fishing

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Needless to say, stripers like these are not usual from the shore, or even from a boat in most areas....In fact, I've only caught 1 keeper from shore (minimum size is 28"). These were caught in an area called the Race, between Plum Island and Fishers Island..accessible from Orient Point, eastern Conn, Montauk....its a fast moving channel where the a reef rises up from deep water....in just one drift you can go from 80' to 35'...and there are always great fish there. I've done this charter before..its a boat called Casey J, the captain is Dave Darrow. I can't do it often...its expensive, which is why I haven't done it in 3 years, but we always limit out...size of fish varies, but they are always keepers. Usually, the size range is 15-20 lbs.....although one year I caught a 41 lber, while the others caught several 30+ lbers, none smaller than 20 lbs. I definitely recommend a trip to this area for anyone who loves fishing! Take care, Eric

 

[NYEric]

Is it a party boat, like the ones from sheepshead bay, brooklyn or a private charter, and about how expensive? E.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Private charter....costs about $400 for stripers, so it is cheaper with more people....we were supposed to have 4, but the others couldn't make it, so we splurged. This is relatively cheap....most of the other charter boats cost $600+...There are several out of Orient...the Sundowner, Celtic horizon, Brooklyn Girl, Nan-sea....one party boat that does night stripers in the area, the Prime Time, but it always sells out fast...its much smaller than the party boats out of Sheepshead Bay. As expensive as it is, I've seen striped bass filet's selling for $15-18 per lb...and the single filet that I ate over the last few nights weighed 6.25 lbs...Take care, Eric

 

[Jmoney]

the last time I was able to actually surf fish with regularity was the fall of 2003, bagged maybe 4 or 5 keeper stripers over 10 trips or so. anywhere from 30" (8 pounds or so) to 41" (22 pounds). that was from island beach state park in NJ, a gorgeous pristine stretch of undeveloped beach with plenty of structure.

charter boats generally give you better service and can potentially catch you bigger fish with regularity, but are of course more expensive than party boats. I go to sheepshead bay a lot so if anyone is thinking about hopping on a party boat there, shoot me a PM and I can give you the "dirt".