Note Alternate venue:
EHSA Monthly Meeting – Note alternate location
July 28, 2025 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
34 Buell Ln Ext, East Hampton, NY 11937, USA
Regular monthly membership meeting; this time at Bill’s house, 34 Buell Lane Extension.
Just enter at either side gate and walk back to the pool area.
Bathing suits optional!See more details
A mere 3.4 points out of the money (the difference of ONE pound on a Bluefish), the crew of Peter Van Scoyoc (Captain), Andy Harris, Patrick Furlong, Scott Aldrich and Louis Forte established themselves as serious contenders and a force to be reckoned with next year.
The crew also won top honors in the largest Porgy sub-competition, winning a first place plaque and a $250 cash prize.
Below is detailed commentary from Captain Van Scoyoc, and pictures below that.
A Grand Slam fishing weekend with the EHSA
By Peter Van Scoyoc
Kicking off on Saturday, there was an air of excitement and anticipation of what was to come. The morning sky was deep blue and cloudless with a light SSW wind, which only added to our enthusiasm.
Our crew, consisting of Scott Aldrich, Andy Harris, Patrick Furlong, and myself convened at 7 AM at the Westlake boat ramp to launch my 23’ Parker center console and load our fishing gear, food and drinks. We left the bananas at the dock.
Blues first
Since there is no chance of winning without a measurable fish in each category, and there was a dearth of Bluefish in last year‘s tournament, we decided that would be the first priority. We checked in with the tournament organizers, headed out the inlet and were fishing for blues under the lighthouse within 15 minutes. We dropped wire line umbrella rigs and trolled for less than 10 minutes before catching two bluefish.
Rhode Island for Fluke and Sea Bass
Because the weather was being so cooperative, we decided to head for Rhode Island for fluke and sea bass. There was already a fleet of boats on the Southwest grounds when we arrived. We fished structure on the outskirts of the fleet and immediately started catching sea bass. A pod of dolphins was feeding just outside of us on what turned out to be mackerel. We would occasionally catch a mackerel when dropping or retrieving bait. We managed to catch a couple of keeper sea bass; Patrick catching the largest, at 2 lbs and 18.5 inches. I managed to catch our largest fluke shortly after; 3.6 pounds and 20.5 inches.
Go Deep
Ebb tide was beginning to slow and the fishing dropped off. With no wind it was getting quite warm, so we decided to head offshore to try a few spots in 110 foot water. We found more mackerel and more dolphins but no more of our target species.
Fish the Tides
Calculating the beginning of flood tide at Montauk Point, we arrived there with a strong flood already starting off the lighthouse. We found working birds ahead of one of the rips and started jigging. A school of bluefish had corralled a school of butterfish against a submerged mound at the lead edge of the rip. The action was fast and furious with some fish breaking on the surface. When Patrick Furlong noticed another larger group of birds about a 1/4 mile away, we approached and Patrick tied on a two dollar Temu surface plug and proceeded to hook our biggest bluefish of the tournament @ 10.6 pounds on very light tackle. After about a 10 minute battle, he subdued the fish and it was brought aboard measuring 34 inches in length. A round of high fives and cheers erupted among the crew.
Shortly after, I hooked what I thought was a medium sized bluefish but as I fought the fish to the surface I saw that it was a very large porgy that had swallowed the hook of the 6 oz diamond jig I was using. We consistently caught large porgies on the bottom and bluefish throughout the water column.
A Good First Day
As fishing hours ended Saturday, the live well was full of keepers; the largest of which were brought back to the weigh-in. We had weighable fish in all 4 categories: 10.6 lb bluefish, 3.6 lb fluke, 2lb sea bass, and a 2.25 lb porgy. Back at the boat ramp we rejoiced in our 4th place position and strategized about our approach for the final day.
Sunday
We added Louis Forte for Sunday since Patrick had parental duties to attend to. He has an eight week old son at home. Congratulations to him and a special thank you to Mrs. Furlong for letting him fish with us Saturday.
Check-in opened at 5 am and we were there and on our way by 5:15 am. We headed north from the inlet.
We watched as dark clouds and rain showers enveloped Montauk, but we only received a few raindrops intermittently. We were thankful for the overcast skies and cooler weather though, as the sun had delivered us a beating for 10 hours the day before.
Looking to Upgrade
Our first destination was a sea mound in Block Island Sound, south of Fisher’s Island. The spot had produced quality fluke and sea bass for years. It did not produce this day though, so we headed 2 miles to a rock pile where Louis bested our previous black sea bass by a 1/2 pound.
We knew we needed an upgrade on our fluke and bluefish as well, so we headed to Montauk Point for the beginning of flood tide. Bouncing our fluke rigs on the bottom produced only slack tide varieties of fish; sea robins! We had a few exciting false alarms as doormat fluke turned into large skates near the surface.
As the tide picked up, the birds began working the same area where we had caught bluefish the day before. It was a repeat of Saturday’s experience, with bluefish and porgies coming over the rail. Despite this, today we were unable to catch any further “upgrades.”
The Clock Runs Out
With the final weigh-in time fast approaching, we celebrated what had been two good days of fishing and camaraderie. The gear was stowed and the bait boards cleaned as I put the boat on plane and headed back toward the Inlet.
I want to give a special shout out to crew members Scott Aldrich (who provided the delicious food), Andy Harris, Patrick Furlong, and Louis Forte. We had fished a total of 20 hours and traveled over 115 miles during the tournament.
The final scoring showed our boat, “Unsupervised,” as having placed fifth out of 30 boats and winning the largest porgy in the recreational division.
It was a pleasure and an honor to represent the East Hampton Sportsmen’s Alliance, and I look forward to fishing with these guys again soon.
TightLines!
Peter Van Scoyoc
Oysters taste even better when you’ve farmed them yourself. Participating in the EH Town Hatchery’s program is a great way to learn, eat delicious oysters and contribute to local water quality.
Now is a good time of year to eat them, as they gird for spawning.
On March 31, two local officers of the DEC attended the meeting to explain their responsibilities and answer questions.
It was interesting to learn about their “typical workday,” as it turns out there is no such thing, since they are responsible to respond to calls at any hour. They are the first responders in the field.
They call upon the expertise and guidance of the respective DEC divisions such as wetlands, licensing and forest rangers.
There were a number of questions on fishing and hunting quotas, sizes and other related topics. In many cases, these guidelines are set by either the state or Federal Government and the role of the DEC is to enforce them.
Some good questions were asked about the local problems with phragmites which are prevalent in our local waters. The renewed presence of foxes even came up, they are being seen more in numerous places. We plan to make this an annual event and invite community participation.
EHSA and the EH Town Litter Action Committee removed fifteen garbage bags of disgusting litter from throughout Maidstone Park – one of East Hampton’s signature spots. Why it is necessary to educate people that using idyllic public spaces as their personal garbage cans is not cool is beyond us.
Bring your questions and suggestions as we discuss all topics with these fellow sportsmen.
Discussion will be driven by what Members care/ask about, but count on learning about at least these topics:
– Fishermen/boat captains always have comments on slots and limits and timing of the announcements.
– How the state run spring turkey sites gone (e.g. Barcelona Neck). Is that oversight still needed?
– There are areas of state land in Montauk such as Hither Hills that seem like more hunting should be allowed.
– There are areas of EH/MTK that seem in need of prescribed burns to avoid wildfires. Are downed pine beetle trees a risk?
– Recreational lobstering topics.
– Any examples of avian flu on waterfowl populations observed?
– Any chance of an increased bag limit on Canada geese? Tons of them around.
– Any special insights on lack of ducks?
– Any examples anywhere of successful anti litter campaigns or enforcement?
– Non resident, comercial-looking, fishing/shellfishing in our waters. What’s up with that?
– Upstate, the duck and goose seasons are short and too early. Tons of geese everywhere. Does complaining/suggesting to DEC help in maybe making changes?
Please arrive early or on time, as we expect a big turnout and have a lot to cover.