THE DIP, NY
Situated roughly 69 nautical miles southeast of Moriches Inlet at 39-54N and 71-43W, bluewater anglers once thought that the Dip was simply just a bend in the 100-fathom curve’s bigeye highway as it meandered from the Hudson Canyon’s 100-Square 30 nautical miles to southwest, to the Block Canyon Fish Tails approximately 18 miles to the east. But new government bathymetric charts that were released to the public in 2005 revealed a unique pair of twin canyons (Ryan and McMaster Canyons, according to the 2005 US Geological Review), that are located just a few miles south of the Dip’s 100-fathom curve.
According to The Fisherman offshore columnist Captain John Raguso of MarCeeJay Sportfishing Charters (www.marceejay.com), one of the secrets to the Dip’s charms is the area’s sharp 35- to 40-degree bend in the 100-fathom line, which frequently causes flowing Gulfstream eddies to jam up and get trapped in its general vicinity. This is always a plus during the mid-July through October timeline, especially if you are hunting for big blue marlin. The current NY State record blue marlin was a 1,174.5-pound monster that was caught by angler Bill Sweedler aboard the Tempo on July 20, 1986 on a Green Machine with noted Montauk Skipper Capt. Harry Clemenz at the helm. Since then, there have been hundreds of other big blue sightings and hook-ups in this area. Historically, the best way to find them was to hang around the lobster pots in the 450- to 650-foot depths near the mahis, which are “marlin candy” and high up on their forage list. Working big lures in the proximity of the pots or near surface schools of skipjack and smallish yellowfins while trolling big Hawaiian chuggers like the Yap, Henry Chee, Schneider and Black Bart lures have caught a lot of big blue marlin. Another proven method to finding big blues and bigeyes is to work the fathom curves and drop-offs near these two new canyons, which lie about 2 to 2.5 nautical miles south and southwest of the Dip’s 100-fathom line, starting in 850 feet of water and transiting all the way down to the 500-fathom “Lobster Claw” area.
The action begins here as soon as water temperatures hit the 70- to 72-degree mark, which can be anywhere from the middle of May to the end of June, depending on when the first Gulfstream warmcore eddy makes its way into the Dip and gets trapped along the bend in its 100-fathom curve. Captain John likes to refer to his Terrafin Sea Surface Temp satellite charts to get an up-to-the-minute status of any temperature breaks on the offshore scene. Once the Gulfstream water moves into the area, anglers can have steady action from July through September, especially on the troll at dawn or dusk. The bite can then become insane when schools of yellowfin, albacore and bigeyes rise above the deep thermoclines to feed near the surface in periods of low sun angle or on cloudy days.
When setting up an effective trolling pattern, John suggests going with a minimum of seven outfits and depending on the boat he’s driving that day and its outrigger set-up, will troll up to 11 or even 13 outfits in the wake to get a maximum spread. The best lures are the classic Green Machines, jet heads and Tuna Clones, either in singles, daisy chains, or rigged on spreader bars, with his favorite colors being green, zucchini, rainbow, purple/black and blue/white, depending on which colors match the local forage of the moment. Penn 30 VSX two-speeds matched to 5½- or six-foot stand-up rods filled with 80-pound super-braid with 80-pound mono topshots and set at 20 pounds of strike drag give him all the lightweight muscle needed to mess with even the baddest bigeyes. After sundown, butterfish or sardine chunks and live squid caught in the slick will usually keep the rods bent on the night bite. When bait fishing, it is imperative that you employ either fluorocarbon or camo leaders, as tuna are extremely line-shy and will not grab an offering no matter how tempting if the leader is visible and the fish are in their normal “finicky” eating mode.
The fall bite at the Dip is often outstanding and chunking both during the day (if you can find a working dragger) and at night can be extremely effective. Butterfish, sardines and peanut bunker are among the favorites, as is working a hammered diamond jig from the surface down to the thermocline; however, if you can jig up a few live squid, send them right back into the chunk slick on a circle hook or J-hook and hold on.
Captain John suggests that for anyone heading to the Dip, start trolling from ten to 15 miles north of the 100-fathom line in the 45- to 50-fathom flats and work your way down into the area. There are plenty of school-sized yellowfin, bluefin and albacore action on the flats, as well as big dorado for the taking, especially around the lobster pot high-flyers. Many anglers often just blow right by these potential hotspots without realizing the action can be just under their keel.
