Fishing

I had a nice chuckle watching an episode of “Gilligan’s Island” in which Gilligan, in his inevitable white bucket hat, hauled in a lobster trap from the overly warm, tropical lagoon (a stage studio out in Los Angeles).

This was a weird summer. We witnessed it all, from epic rainfall to sustained heat waves to jungle-like humidity. On the fishing scene, anglers are looking forward to the change of seasons.

I was surprised to see in my logbook that my lobster catch was better than expected this year, although lobsters in our local waters have been on a downswing for decades.

A trip to the North Fork to pick up 1,000 oyster spat from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Center means it was time to replenish my North Haven stock.

At daybreak, I went to check my lobster traps off to the east, but before we ventured forth, I wanted to do a bit of fishing on the east side of Gardiner's Island. Fluke and sea bass were the intended quarry. My expectations were very low. Let me explain.

After finishing dinner on our outdoor patio overlooking Shelter Island Sound the other day, we noticed a canoe with a man, woman, and child in it moving rapidly on the strong incoming full-moon tide. It was getting dark and they were too far from the beach.

We are in full-scale summer mode as August approaches. In Montauk stripers are still running, and the same is true for fluke and a plethora of undersize sea bass.

I trapped 15 lobsters on July 8. That was the good news. The bad was that the Yanmar diesel engine on my Rock Water encountered problems on the return trip to Sag Harbor.

It’s appropriate that Michael Potts will be honored on Sunday afternoon as the Montauk Fishing Legend of the Year at the Montauk Grand Slam fishing tournament that Henry Uihlein has hosted at his marina for nearly three decades.

My good friend Robert Cugini, who hails from Seattle, has served as a valued deckhand for many years when bay scallop season opens in early November. But lobsters are a different ballgame.

I know that the East End is a well-known hot spot. I realize that nothing stays the same, but I miss the more simple days when courtesy, respect, and kindness ruled the road and water. Is it too much to ask for today?

The recent heat wave zapped my energy for getting on the Rock Water and wetting a fishing line. But I sucked it up and checked on my lobster traps anyway.