ONCE UPON A SUMMER FLOUNDER: KELSCI'S FISH TALES

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Recently I watched a fishing show on a sports network where they were catching sheepshead in Destin,Fl. near a bridge. They were running large for these species going up to 10 pounds. I noticed the way these fish could put up a fight that was very similar to the northern scup that I caught in the 1960s in Long Island Sound's deeper water outside of Stony Brook Harbor, Both species are related. So I decided to write some brief "fish tales" about some of the fish I caught or sent after.

The tautog is a fish that frequents rocky type areas on the fall. I have seen them speared at Shinnecock Inlet. I saw them caught on some jetties at Oak Beach. Fall fishing for me was to go outside of Stony Brook Harbor in the sound off the rocks at Crane Neck Point. These fish are in the wrasse family which includes bergalls and wrasses. I have caught some small multi-colored wrasses by Hillsboro Inlet on tiny hooks. Yes they act just like their cousins the bergalls from up north tring to steal bait. In the spring, the tautogs are caught over sandbars with winter flounders. Over the areas of Kings Park and Sunken Meadow Long Island in the sound was some very nice fishing for these. My best experience was off of Jones Beach Inlet at a place called the "tea wreck". The day before, I had fished in Westhampton Beach, NY where a gentlemen in anothe boat asked me if I wanted any conch. Oh yes I said because I had read in the SALT WATER SPORTSMAN about this bait used to catch tautog. Well at the tea wreck those tautog wallopped that conch. Mattituck on Long Island Sound was another great place for spring tautog. My father caught a 7 pounder there. but I know that in some places I just could not hook one or two that felt like they were in the upper teens or higher.

A snowshoe flounder is a winter flounder caught in the spring that weights four pounds or more. I remember going on a party boat trip at Greenport,L.I. and saw a few caught on the boat. Stoney Brook outside on Long Island sound offerred "minature showshoes" in the spring but while we caught "sea flounders"(a flounder weighting from 2 l/2 pounds to under 4 pounds) it is there that my brother caught a 4 l/4 pounder and this was the fall. I lost one nearly as big or bigger one time and learned that one must take a landing net whenever you go fishing. Sometimes your line has worn down that if you hoist the fish out of the water it will break.

The sundial flounder is a "fun" flounder" caught on the north and south shore but also very prevalent outside of Stoney Brook Harbor in the sound. It is a rather thin fish that has very little meat to eat. Their mouths are large like a fluke but have no teeth. It was mid-Dec. in the latter 1960s that the temp was in the mid 60s so my father,brother and I hijacked a skiff from the closed fishing station and went out into the flat calm waters of the sound. We caught a few sea flounders but I noticed and heard fish jumping out of the water. While sundials are bottom feeders, they were acting like they were having the time of their lives flopping on top of the water like pancakes.

The ultimate goal in fluke fishing is to catch a doormat. The pictures are self explanatory. I would say that anything weighing 5 pounds or higher is a doormat. I actually witnessed one that was put in a freezer to be stuffed by a taxidermist at the Oak Beach Fishing station. That one was 18 pounds. The japanese pride fluke for sushi. I read once that some place in New England was hatching fluke in tanks for both the sushi industry and to be released in the wild. I caught two doormats in the 7 l/2 and 6 pound range. My father caught a 5 pounder the same moments that I caught the 6 pounder. It was his first doormat and my second.

The best adventure I had with the northern scup was off of Crane Neck Point in August in the latter 1960s. We caught at least 4 four pounders and boy they fought like hell. Then the north wind came up and that ended the fishing trip. We caught smaller ones in Peconic Bay and real small ones( known as sand porgies) in Cold Spring Harbor, L.I.

I witnessed an event like no other one time on the Jones Beach Pier. Hundreds of nice size Boston Mackerel came in with the tide and swam under the pier. I could not catch even one. I have caught small ones in august(known as tinker mackerel)

ONCE UPON A SUMMER FLOUNDER

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

KELSCI'S FISH TALES

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