PHOTO CAPTION: Tom Wares dragged a 50.5-pound brute out of the surf off Napeague. (Photo courtesy of JackYee.com).
Many anglers think of the fall season as prime time for connecting with big stripers. The month of June, however, also gives up plenty of cow bass - and if catches over Memorial Day weekend are any indication, the big bass invasion is underway.
Sunday saw Rob Cipriano drill a 48-pound cow while fishing aboard the City Island open boat, Island Current II. On Monday, Tom Wares dragged a 50.5-pound brute out of the surf off Napeague.
“Late May and early June always see some monster bass in the western Long Island Sound,” said Chris Cullen, captain of the Island Current. “That’s because warming water pushes the bunker out of the shallows. They begin schooling at mid-Sound and the stripers quickly follow.”
Cipriano drilled his fish while suspending a fresh fillet of bunker five cranks above the bottom in 55 feet of water, mid-way between Hempstead Harbor and Rye. Pete DiNome was at the helm when the big bass struck. The huge fish was weighed in at Jack’s Bait and Tackle, City Island.
“We get fresh bunker delivered to the boat each day,” said Cullen, “and I really believe having fresh bait helps entice the biggest bass.”
Cullen noted that the bass seem to bite best in this area on the first two hours of the ebbing tide, and during the first hour or so of the flood.
“The blues hit hardest when the tide pushes fast while the stripers prefer the slower stages,” he summarized. “Right now, nighttime bass action is hitting stride – and the blues are plentiful as well.”
The big east end striper beached by Wares fell for a clam bait at high noon in the choppy surf off Napeague Beach. It hit at the start of the flood and took the avid surf fisherman 20 minutes to land.
“I’ve been fishing Montauk since I’m eight years old,” said Wares, “and I’ve been waiting to weigh in a cow like this since the day I started.”
After working the exhausted striper into the wash, Wares grabbed the sinker on his bottom rig and started to pull the behemoth ashore – but the leader snapped! Luckily, the surf rolled the big bass into shallow water where the 50-year old tackled the fish before dragging it up onto the beach. The big bass was officially weighed at Johnny’s Bait and Tackle, Montauk.
CAPTION FOR SECOND PHOTO: Rob Cipriano drilled a 48-pound cow while fishing aboard the City Island open boat, Island Current II. (Photo courtesy of Island Current Fleet).
Comments (1)
50.5 pounds? Is a fish that large edible? I love fishing. I try to go out at least a few times a year. I never catch anything close to that. I need a bass boat!!!!!