A number of southern species have made a somewhat early appearance in our waters this summer. August into early September is normally prime time for some of the more unusual visitors to come calling, but we’re already seeing some unique visitors to our waters.
Black drum have been making regular visits here for as long as I can remember. I clearly recall an 80 pounder landed in Great South Bay’s West Channel that took the baits of two anglers, and was fought and landed by the pair. A few seasons ago, schools of big black drum were seen on the surface in NY Bight for several days in late May or early June. So it is not that unusual that a number of black drum have already been reported from Staten Island to Montauk.
Cobia have become more frequent visitors over the course of the past decade. They were so prevalent for a short time one season ten or so years ago that west end anglers were actually able to target them around bay bridges like the Meadowbrook and Wantagh. Most summers there are widely scattered catches of just a few of the species, also known as lemonfish. Just last week, one was caught in Montauk’s Fort Pond Bay.
Sailfish never fail to cause a stir when they show up this far north. You can imagine the surprise of the crew on Capt. Joe McBride’s Montauk charter boat My Mate when the billfish they boated turned out to be a sailfish a number of years ago. Even more surprising was the sailfish landed by a surfcaster in the Cape Cod Canal in August of 2013.
Tarpon have also strayed into our waters some years. There was a 50 pounder caught beneath the lighthouse at Montauk by a caster soaking bunker chunks – I’m guessing seven or eight years ago. Prior to that, there was a flurry of tarpon action in the bay waters north of Sag Harbor, when as many as three of the giant herring were hooked but not landed by anglers.
Spanish mackerel have been fairly prevalent during some years, but this year, there seems to be a decent body of cero mackerel roaming the waters of Fire Island Inlet. Several anglers reported catching these speedsters this past weekend, and the presence of ceros is far more unusual than having Spanish mackerel in our waters. One pair of anglers fishing the shoreline on the north side of Fire Island Inlet actually beached six of the newly arrived visitors on Saturday. They ranged up to 42 inches. On Friday, Danny Immesberger landed a good size cero on the backside of Democrat Point.
Small northern barracuda will occasionally show up in the buckets of snapper fishermen in late summer. Usually no more than a foot in length, they are more prevalent some seasons than others, and some years they are missing altogether. Visits from their senior brethren, the great barracuda are far more uncommon, and this weekend saw the catch of an estimated 15 pounder in Fire Island Inlet by Matt Fabrizio, according to Mike at Saltwaters Outfitters in West Islip.
So the summer invasion is underway. Be prepared for the unexpected, and that big fish that gets away just might not have been what you thought it was.
