montauk, boys of guardian summer

Well, I got back east a few weeks ago with a few of my good fishing buddies who had never experienced east coast surf/inshore fall fishing before. We headed to Mecca, “The Surf fishing Capital of the World”, Montauk, the eastern end of Long Island. Approximately 2.5 hours from Kennedy International airport due east. We didn’t exactly time it right, this is the problem with the fall fishery back east. In a perfect world you want a Nor’easter or Hurricane to hit about two weeks before you arrive. This turns the water over and gets all the baitfish excited, spilling them out into the ocean on outgoing tides to waiting predators that ball them up and start the big fall migration or blitzs. We were at the tail end of a big swell and the Florida hurricane was moving up the coast while we were there. We were about two weeks too early. The water was too warm, 75 degrees, in fact a week before we arrived they had bluefin tuna busting bunker schools about a hundred yards off the beach. They had come in and disappeared. I saw some iphone pics that were insane. Anyway, that’s fishing, timing is everything. I got to show the boys the sights, we ate great food and we hit it hard for two out of four days on boat for a few false albacore, a small bass and a few bluefish. The fishing was poor but the bait was everywhere and everything was ready to pop. You could see the potential. Not to say we all had a great time regardless of the poor fishing opportunities. It’s going off right now! I love this place and it still feels like home! It was great throwing top water plugs in the back bays like old times. Hope to be back again soon. -Al Q

Our Guides: Timmothy O’Rouke Mike Grande