montauk East wind

[flybyknight]

I wanted to see what you guys think about fishing a east wind 10 to 15
in montauk this time of the year. That is the forcast for sun mon tues
when I have a trip planed. I am wondering if I should bag the trip or go
anyway. Help me make up my mind please:confused:

[jrzfly]

What type of Boat do you have or who is your charter with?

[flybyknight]

Fishing with a friend who has a 19'cc maycraft

[Glory]

Don't bother. Fishing seems to suck in a east wind and wind from that direction brings in big surf, even in Gardiners Bay.

[Wild Bill]

FBK-

That forecast will most likely change several times before your trip. If I did not go on trips when 10-15 winds were predicted three days out, I would rarely get to fish. Solid 20 starts to get questionable but it is often still very good fishing. East wind does roll right in from the ocean on to the point and the south side. That strip west of Shagwong might not be too bad, but that limits you. It is early yet. Can you wait another day to decide?

I just do not trust wind forecasts this far in advance. You are lucky if they get it right when you look the day before. I normally go on my trips unless a tropical storm or hurricane is predicted. We usually get to fish. My boat is a little bigger at 23' but still small for the ocean.

[fmw]

Hmm, the forecast does look like it will be somewhat sloppy out there.

[browndog]

A decent size swell came with the ebb tide today. Ebb tide and east wind will produce big standing waves in the rips. Gardners Island might be a better bet.

[HudsonYakRat]

FlyByKnight,

I don't post often. Only when I really feel I can add something.
If there is a person whose advice you want to take it's WildBill's. I know who he is, but I don't think he knows me. Many of the captains who fish Montauk and NYC have nothing but great respect for him.

I will echo his comments. Wait as long as you can to make a decision. I used to get all bent out of shape with regards to Montauk and the weather. I ususally spend 2 to 3 days with a guide and my time is limited. I want my shot at Albies and it's the one place you know you will get them no matter what's going on elsewhere. The wind of course is key, and an east wind just sucks.

However, I found out that you if you just go, unless a big storm is coming, you never know what will happen. I have left my house in Westchester at 3AM with NOAA telling me it will be calm and I get there and it's brutal. I have left thinking there is no way we will fish and the weather is wonderfull once we get there.

It's a crapshoot. You can get a general idea what will happen, but until you are there you never truely know.

I am fishing Tues thru Thursday and I won't look at the weather until Monday night when I leave. If it is looking terrible my capt will call, if not, I just get on with it.

You just never know for certain.

Note - An important issue is how confident are you in your friend and his ability to captain his boat? This is where a seasoned guide really becomes a huge plus. If it's tough when you get there don't fish because you feel you have to. Make the sensible choice. The one you are comfortable with. Think with the big head so to speak.;) Good luck out there.

[Glory]

In addition to the problems associated with a stiff East wind is the lumpy slop created by the mass of boats cruising around the Point. Get a few of those big boys coming through and a 19' boat feels real small. You can't point your bow into waves coming from every direction. I have a 20' CC and too recommend Gardiner's as an alternative.

[flybyknight]

GOD you guys are great, the info you have give me has been awesome!!!
We always try wait till the last possible minute but sometimes the "PULL" to
fish is strong, when you live three hundred miles from the montauk
I want to go bad, but think we should wait for good weather
to make the trip better. casting in any wind 15kt or more is not really enjoyable
for me.
thanks again!!!!!

[albacized]

Here's my though: If you have the option to abort your plans at the last moment based on the current weather and the forecast is accurate, this is what I'd base my choice on: 1) if your goal is bass, don't go, 2) if your goal is to catch albies, go ahead as planned.

[HudsonYakRat]

Oh yeah. What albacized said. I just assumed it was albies.

I get more than my fill of bass up here in the Hudson during spring, fall and winter.:) I go to the Point for Albies and an east wind, while brutal, can make for some epic Albie fishing.


However, I thought about it some more and a 19 footer in those conditions can be very dangerous.

Take care of number one first.

Don't ever forget that.

No matter how strong the pull of fish.

[Wild Bill]

Two of my buds went up today. It was windy and fairly big but the fishing was very good. One bud flew a life long friend over from Buenos Aires, so there was not postponing the trip. Albies were very active. The wind is to be less tomorrow.

On has a 23 Seacraft and the other a vintage 21 Starcraft.

[flybyknight]

Thanks for the info, I decided to bag the trip because I was only
going to be able to fish sun afternoon and tues. My friend
had an obligation on monday. The weather for tuesday was
not good but now it doesn't look too bad. Oh well(#$119)
I guess I should have just said screw it "I'm going anyway"
He did well yesterday and will do well today, tomorrow too
I guess. I have never had good fishing with an east wind,
I guess the alberts don't mind at all.--124-3

[CaptSuperfly]

Too bad youy had to bag your trip. some general info for the next one.

as mentioned earlier, it's not just wind, but wind and current. If you have an outgoing tide and an east wind, you tend to get lots of slop at Shagwong and the North Rips by the point. throw in some NNE and even the incoming tide gets real bad close to the point. Big swells that get real sharp.

The fishing on the south side is generally better on the incoming and the north side on the outgoing. when it gets sloppy, plan on crossing the rips during slack tide to be safe. So, plan on committing to a course of action and of course, keep an eye on the general weather since you don't want to get stranded on the south side and have a t-storm come through.

A good plan is to check the south side from the town beaches and see what's up. Then on the way out to the point, figure passing the inner shag will be about 70 percent as bad as passing the point. Make your final decision when you get to shag. If you're not comfortable, buzz back and hit Gardiners.

[Wild Bill]

Good stuff Capt Superfly.

Which tide chart do you use? I find quite a descrepancy on the chart and what is happening. Of course tide and current are different and different times. I was in a slip next to Capt Keith White. He was very helpful but did say there are three different charts for Montauk and some are wrong. He was getting info from his chartplotter but I do not always trust that either.

We were in the situation you described two Tuesdays ago. We rounded the Point in pretty big stuff and fished south out from the town. We wanted to get back around the Point in near slack water. I consulted the current symbol on my chartplotter and it was pretty close but I am still not sure I trust it.

[CaptSuperfly]

Hey Bill,

I usually look at the chart at the Westlake Marina. The CHart on my cmap chip is often off by a couple of hours. Don't know which official chart Chris at Westlake uses as a reference, but you could call and I'm sure he'd tell you.

some BIG albies this weekend. 12+ pounds on the north side.

[Wes]

I have been following this thread for a week with keen interest as was considering a run to the point in my 19 footer Sunday am as well. We went. Above posted advice was very helpful. We also had the benefit of a last minute discussion with a local Capt who was at the point everyday for the week prior. Made the decision to go straight over at first light while the tide was relatively slack figuring the am incoming with an E wind probably our best shot. Lumpy but managable and we had a blast. We decided to split before the outgoing got steaming and at that we weren't getting past the blues anyway. If I had to make the call for an afternoon run Sunday I probably would not have gone. Didn't weigh any but guess some were at least 10 and up.

Very glad to see discussions of this kind, thanks to all.

[ArthurB]

Its been fishable out there for the last 8 days I've been there. Sloppy yes at times but the wind forcasts aren't very reliable. I'm in a 23 ft bay boat (a Dorado). I agree with WildBill. Unless there is on off shore tropical storm/hurricane, I usually go and I trailer from Pittsburgh.
Try using the Eldridge book to better assess when maximum current at the point might be. Even with that however, the current can vary if a stiff wind has accentuated or lessened the normal tidal flow into the sound.

[CaptSuperfly]

arthur B, saw your boat out there. It's the green Dorado, yes? Love that boat.

[ArthurB]

CaptSuperfly:
Yup, thats me. Seventh season with it. As a fishing platform the Dorado is great. Gas mileage is 3.5 mpg,lots of storage and lots of plusses overall. With 14 degrees deadrise at the transom and a relatively low gunwale, you'll see I'm usually in Gortex when at Montauk.

I was admiring your G-20 the other day both on the trailer and in the water. Beautiful boat. It looks like it handles the chop much better than I would expect from a 20 footer. See you out there.
Arthur