8/9/04

Last week I compared July's weather to June. Here we are in the first week
of August and it feels like September, with a little northeaster followed by
a cool clearing northwest.

Before I get into the tuna fishing I have to give you a couple of
definitions. When I say local tuna fishing I am talking about north of the
43600 line. When I am referring to long distance tuna fishing I mean the
general vicinity of the 43500 line, and the edge is the fifty fathom line
and beyond.

Locally the dwarf bluefins are still plentiful with a very occasional thirty
to forty pounder being taken. Most of the action continues to be in the
vicinity of the 43700 line east of the Butterfish Hole. Over the weekend a
couple of boats made the long range trip and found some yellowfins and
longfins. These fish were taken along the 43450 line anywhere from the 14600
line east to around 14450. There are also occasional mahi, or dorado, or
dolphin (not "Flipper"0 being taken, but I haven't heard of anyone doing
much by "pot hopping".

The summer makos are here in force, and it's pretty unusual for someone to
go sharking and not catch one. There are also enough bluesharks around to
pull on while waiting for the makos to show up. Star Island is holding it's
"Mako Mania" tournament this weekend, with fishing taking place on Friday
and Saturday. In addition to prizes in the form of $$$ for the largest mako,
they also have a thresher division.

Inshore the striper fishing is a little erratic. Boats are trolling,
chunking and drifting porgies, and It's hard to determine which method is
working best. At times the lures are better and at other times the bait is
best, but the better fish are definitely being taken on meat, either alive
or dead.

The fluke fishing is still pretty damn good, but the fluke eating is taken a
hit, thanks to the new eighteen inch size limit. Most boats are still
fishing out around Midway, but I think that will be changing shortly, thanks
to some reports of better sized fish down the beach to the west.

If you would like to have these reports sent to you directly, just drop me a
note at . And for more information about
fishing in Montauk, you can give me a call at 800 280 5565 or check out
ht.//www.montauksportfishing.com.

Capt Gene Kelly

Montauk Sportfishing


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Capt Gene Kelly
Tropical Fishing Adventures
Montauk Sportfishing
800 280 5565
631 668 2019