It was July 19th, two days off the new moon and the August Montauk Sun Inshore Journal was due. At 7:40am I hung the stern lines and Captain Steve backed his 36 foot Osmond Beel out of the slip. Cheikh and Deborah were with us for the trip. Osmond Beels are made by H & H Marine. Their website states, “For more than 35 years, H & H Marine in Steuben Maine has built boats in the Downeast tradition: Stable, efficient, safe and reliable.” We headed east and caught some porgies. The published tide for the north side of Montauk Point was 9:52am. We needed to head towards the point to see what was happening. As we passed close to the Lighthouse I watched it being painted. It’s been going through a restoration and it’s fun to watch the stages from the water. Montauk Point Lighthouse is the 4th oldest active lighthouse in the United States and was authorized for construction by the Second United States Congress under President George Washington on April 12, 1792.
With birds diving we drifted some live baits and immediately got bites. All the bites were from the tail of the bait to the head, a telltale sign of bluefish. We boated a few blues and lost some hooks to the voracious feeders. We knew once the incoming tide died out it would be time to switch our target species. We decided to bottom fish north of the point. Captain Steve worked his way west trying different spots along the way. Black Sea Bass, Fluke, Sea Robbins and Skates were all caught. We ended the trip close to the harbor catching Black Sea Bass and an occasional fluke. Black Sea Bass are delicious and Cheikh was excited to eat the porgy and sea bass fillets I cut for him. It was a beautiful day on the water with wonderful people. It’s what Montauk is all about.
