The Hylton Castle - The Fisherman

The Hylton Castle

Hotspot Hylton

40.5347 / 73.0912

On January 11, 1886, while bound from New York to Rouen with a cargo of 57,880 bushels of corn, the 251-foot-long Hylton Castle got caught in a heavy gale. After a massive beating, she literally began to break up. The crew abandoned her and split into two lifeboats; one containing nine men, while the other held 13. Within an hour the big ship nosedived to her final resting place in 100 feet of water. One lifeboat managed to row ashore through the icy winter weather, while the other boat drifted for three days before being rescued by a fishing vessel.

Today, the Hylton Castle lies 15 miles southeast of Fire Island Inlet where local divers feast on the bounty of lobsters that nestle in the wreck, while anglers send down a smorgasbord of bait in hopes of duping the quality fluke, sea bass and blackfish that sense this piece of history as home throughout the seasons. The Hylton Castle’s scattered wreckage is an excellent home for sea bass, blackfish, cod, ling and summertime doormat fluke. As for sharks, threshers, mako, brown, tiger and of course the abundant blue shark are all frequent visitors from mid-June through November in search of an easy meal that may wander too far off the wreck. The Hylton Castle’s steel propellers protrude from her low-lying stern section. Just forward of the prop on her port side is the remains of the helm. The wreck’s engine comes within 85 feet of the surface. In front of the engine is a low laying steel hull plate.

In late winter and early spring, anglers will find cod and ling settled along the bow of the ship as well as a few by the propeller. Later in the season, as the water warms, the engine area produces some fine tog and sea bass action.  For those anglers who bring along hermit crabs, they can really score well with jumbo sea bass and giant white chins. For those lazy, hazy days of summer, drifting long strips of fresh squid or fluke ribbons along the sandy fringes of the wreck will produce quite a few outsize fluke. In the fall, the Hylton Castle becomes a true grab bag and there’s no telling what the next species that comes up will be.

If it’s an outsize fluke you’re looking for, or a few jumbo sea bass and blackfish, then consider a trip to the Hylton Castle.

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