Topic: Sports

This year may go down as “The Year of the Bluefish” according to Captain Craig Cantelmo from Van Staal Reels. The fishing has been “outrageous” of late. Shinnecock Bay and Peconic Bays are inundated with large bluefish and stripers feeding on schools of bunker that have pushed into all the area creeks. Surface lures like Pencil Poppers and Saltwater Super Spooks have been very effective. If you get a few follows without a take, increase your retrieve. The New Moon tide this week should result in some great action in the late afternoon working the back bay points.

Ken Morse at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor echoes Cantelmo’s report, saying the fishing is phenomenal. He only marvels at how few fishermen there are out there taking advantage of this time of year. The creeks around Southampton are giving up 30-inch stripers, and Morse has heard reports of the first fluke being caught, along with some big porgies in the 3-4 pound range. The seasons will open on flukes and porgies in the coming weeks.

To the west, Captain John McMurray of One More Cast Charters also reports great fishing in Jamaica Bay. Excellent grass shrimp hatches, some of the best he has ever seen, have led to great surface action for stripers in the mid 30-inch range. There are still plenty of bunker around with some bigger bass underneath, but most schools of bunker are dominated by bluefish. The grass shrimp hatch provides a great opportunity for fly fishermen. Hope it lasts!

Check back every Wednesday for a new report.

-Tee Clarkson

April is not quite in the books and the fish are already starting to show up in good numbers. While the recent cold snap has turned the bass bite off, the bluefish appeared in “full force” this past weekend according to Ken Morse of Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor. Starting in Moriches Inlet and working their way to Accabonac Harbor, the fish arrived on Sunday in Sag Harbor with anglers catching bluefish up to eleven pounds almost “effortlessly.”

While the Peconics are “ripe with bluefish,” and the creeks are loaded with schoolie size bass, squid also showed up in Montauk Harbor this week and were caught by some on squid jigs. A friend of Ken’s brought him 220 pounds just the other day, which will make for some prime weakfish bait.

Captain John McMurray of One More Cast Charters says fishing was pretty good this week in Jamaica Bay until the cold front and accompanying east wind kicked in on Saturday. There were loads of schoolie bass around just like last week, with some bigger fish in the mix. The amount of bunker in the back bay is extraordinary and the guys livelineing are scoring big. Not much in the way of small-bait so far, which can make flyfishing somewhat difficult, but still he is finding good numbers on the fly, and this will only continue to get better. Without a doubt, this season has started much earlier than the last three ... and that's a good thing.

Check back every Wednesday for a new report.

-Tee Clarkson

A golfer could be forgiven for thinking that he had died and gone to heaven if he found himself in Southampton. With Shinnecock, National, Southampton and now Sebonack all within a 7-iron of one another, it's one of the greatest concentrations of great golf courses in the world.

Sebonac, the newest entrant to the field, is no less spectacular, if only a bit less storied—though they may be trying to change that. Newsday reports that the clubs management is hoping to bring a "major" tournament to the club in the years ahead. And they just might geet their wish.

The course, which was designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak, has been winning high praise from players and publications. So it may just be a matter of time before you see Tiger Woods strolling the course.

Sebonack is looking for Big Time Tournament [Newsday] 

Spring is finally in the air and the fish are feeling it too. Bass are on the move in the back bays and tidal creeks according to Captain Craig Cantelmo of Van Staal reels. Bunker and silver sides are the main forage right now. Look for them to congregate in the deeper areas of the bay with muddy bottoms that warm fastest. Schoolie stripers will not be far behind. Craig suggests looking to Western Peconic Bays and the far reaches of South Shore Bays as good options. Late afternoon outgoing tides should get the fish warmed up and moving around. Soft baits fished slowly are a good bet.

Ken Morse of Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor says Long Island floundering is “poor at best.” Fish have been few and far between. The last several evenings, however, have brought an influx of schoolie size bass into Sag Harbor.

To the west, Captain John McMurray of One More Cast Charters “splashed the boats” last week in Jamaica Bay for the first time this year. He has been having good luck on fly and light tackle for schoolie stripers, with some keepers mixed in. The size of the fish seems to be getting bigger each day out, especially with the nice weather last weekend. The bay is loaded with bunker, which should mean some big “pigs” lurking around, and it won’t be long until they get active enough to eat a fly or soft-plastic. Water temps are unusually high for this time of year. John’s guess is things are going to break open in a big way within the next week!

Check back every Wednesday for a new report.

-Tee Clarkson

Lutha's Sunrise to Sunset report:

The Word: Perfect waves at SSE facing breaks that work well with N winds! Get out there ASAP before the winds turn SE this afternoon... Waist to chest high with head high sets at the better spots. Other spots are slightly smaller.

Winds: North winds at 5-10 knots, becoming southeast.

Seas: 6-9 feet, subsiding to 3-4 feet.

Significant Wave Height: 5.2 feet

Average Wave Period: 7.2 seconds

Swell Height: 5.2 feet

Swell Period: 10.0 seconds

Wind Wave Height: 1.3 feet

Wind Wave Period: 3.6 seconds

Water: 40-41° Wear a hooded 6/5/4 or a 5/4, 5mm or 7mm boots, and some 5mm gloves.

Montauk Point Tides: High 6:33 a.m. & 6:58 p.m. Low 12:27 p.m.

Next Chance for Surf: There might be some leftovers tomorrow, then after that, not until late day Sat or early Sun morn.

Working 40 hours each week during the summer while surfing for 10 hours in between constitutes the identification of a weekend warrior. But when those weekends are taking place during the winter, the term weekend warrior is an insult. If you've been surfing this winter, consider yourself a chilly champion.

Believe it or not, there's still plenty of surfing going on in the Hamptons during this "off season." How do we know? Our good friend Lutha Leahy Miller and his continuous surf reports. And for this final, full weekend of February, he's forecasting perhaps the best waves of all winter.

To quote the surfing sage:

It looks like Saturday and Sunday and maybe even Monday are going to have some nice little ground-swell. Your best bet will be Saturday at breaks that work well with north and/or northeast winds (Head west). Then, Sunday the swell might still be around but we will have to deal with west winds, so one might have to find shelter from that. Good luck on your surf hunting and keep an eye on the weather vane.

So you've got your waves. Now, to survive 40º temperatures, what gear do you need? Once again, Lutha has the answer:

• One 6/5/4mm hooded winter wetsuit, preferably an O'Neill Psycho because of it's rubberized sealed seams.
• One pair of 5mm gloves or mitts.
• One pair of 7mm booties.
• One surfboard that's slightly thicker than your summer surfboard (unless you're riding a longboard) because the winter wetsuit adds up to 15 lbs when wet.
• One tin of cold water wax.
• One warm car to get back into quickly.

Remember that Plum Hamptons writer who wrote the Patriots would beat the Giants in the Super Bowl? Turns out his source was incorrect.

The Patriots have lost.

Repeat:

The Patriots have lost.

Along with the Giants vs. Patriots debate comes the watch or don’t watch debate, among others. Yes, there is a small cadre of Super Bowl opposition out there—shocking, we know. And even though the Patriots are going to drub the Giants (full disclosure: the author of this article is a Patriots fan), the question of where to watch is valid. Here are some options:

Rowdy Hall
“Super Gal Sunday”
Main St., East Hampton (631) 324-8555
Rowdy Hall is letting the ladies rule the bar on Sunday, February 3rd, with half price bar food, discounted cosmos, well drinks, wine and beers. Enjoy intelligent conversation, silly giggling while viewing or not viewing the big game on the flat screen at the bar.

Matto
What: Super Bowl Sunday
North Main St., East Hampton (631) 329-0200
Matto will be celebrating Super Bowl Sunday on February 3rd. Come watch the game on Matto’s flat screen TV and enjoy specialty martinis, $3.50 beers and complimentary bar snacks including mini pizzette bits and wings.

Townline BBQ
Super Bowl XLII
Townline Road, Sagaponack (631) 537-2271 (BBQ1)
Townline BBQ will be celebrating Super Bowl Sunday on Sunday, February 3rd with complimentary snacks during the game, including, wings, pigs in a blanket, peanuts and popcorn. Come view the game on the flat screens and play a game of pool while you watch.

Publick House
Super Bowl XLII
North Main St., Southampton (631) 283-2800
$5 raffle tickets for a flat screen, drink and food specials and lots of TVs with the game on.

Magic's Pub
Super Bowl XLII
Main St., Westhampton Beach (631)-288-6105
Food and drink specials and widescreen projection TVs.

Late last year, if you recall, we took a comprehensive look at the coexistence of Yankees and Red Sox fans here in the Hamptons. Much to our delight, it appears we'll take a look at a similar matter only in a different arena, as the New England Patriots face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The Pats have been an obvious lock for the championship since day one, but unless you are Prince Akeem of Zamunda, you likely didn't see the Giants making it this far did you?