Montauk Point Fly Fishing Adventure

Montauk Fly Fishing

I just returned from an amazing trip to Long Island, New York. We spent the week fishing the area around Montauk Point. This area is as rugged and majestic as it looks. The fishing was unbelievable and I could not help but think that every day looked like a page from National Geographic. The Striped Bass, False Albacore, and Bluefish that we were targeting cooperated completely.

My first Striper in the salt with Captain Paul Dixon.

Montauk Point and Lighthouse from the South Shore.

False Albacore

 We spent the time fishing both from in the surf as well as a few days in guided boats. The guides were excellent. We fished with Captain Paul Dixon and Captain Bill Cox. Both captains put us on tons and fish. We all agreed that we were much better fishermen after these experiences. 

Striped Bass Blitzing. Sometimes the fish were so thick below us that you could actually reach down and feel their backs as they fed.

 Being in a place where fishing was such a huge part of the local culture was pretty neat. Most of the time we were there, we saw upwards of 200 fishermen a day. They spread out along the surf and in the boats, all trying to battle it out with large Striper's. The Striper's also make excellent table fare as we found on the last evening as we filleted and grilled a few for the group.

Surf fishermen with fishing boats in the background.

 Most of the guys fished nine and ten weight rods. I used a Hardy Proaxis 10 weight and Hardy Fortuna Reel w/ Rio Striped Bass intermediate line. I had some other setups along as well for spares but this setup did most of the hard work. Shattered rods and cut lines were not rare on this trip so everyone came prepared. The amount of fly fishing gear that nine fly fishermen bring for a trip like this is simply amazing. 

Reels and Flies for 1/3 of the group.

A friend setting the steel to a Bass with his 12 weight. You have to stop fish quickly when fishing the surf.

 

Striper Blitz in progress.

 A striper in the surf was a huge accomplishment.