INTERVIEWS WITH THE EXPERTS
BY ZENO HROMIN
Copyright©2012 SURFCASTING LLC
Smashwords Edition
SURF FISHING -
INTERVIEWS WITH THE EXPERTS
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Other publications by SURFCASTING LLC
The Art of Surfcasting with Lures, by Zeno Hromin
The Hunt for Big Stripers, by Zeno Hromin
Surfcaster, by William Muller
Secrets of Surf Fishing at Night, by William Muller
Fishing the Bucktail, by John Skinner
Table Of Contents
Favorite Lures of the Pro's : Al Bentsen-Lou Derricco- Bill Wetzel
This is a series of interviews with some of Northeast best surfcasters on how they get ready for the particular month in a season. What goes thru their minds in anticipation, what is their plan of action, and of course where do they fish that particular month, and why. My first victim is Mike Lang from Farragut Striper Club. Mike has won the NY Surf Fishing Contest an unprecedented 6 consecutive times and has been fishing LI waters for over 24 years. Mike lives and works in the western sound and consequently has a good feel on the “pulse” of fishing in the area.
In the past you have had great success during the month of April. Where do you concentrate your efforts and why?
As April approaches, the main areas that I concentrate on are all in the western Long Island sound in bodies of water such as Hempstead harbor, Manhasset and Little Neck Bay's. One reason why I concentrate on these areas is that there is a definite population of stripers that winter over here which take full advantage of the many deep water holes and shipping lanes that lie right outside these harbor and bay areas. I target these western bays for two main reasons, first because they each possess flats of mud and sand which are the very first parts of the bay to warm up on those sunny April days, which draw these holdovers from their depths in search of food. And second, these flats, for the most part, are bordered by either mussel beds or glacial boulder fields, both of which provide a terrific menu for these early spring stripers. This menu of bait includes mussels, steamer and razor clams, crabs, sea worms, grass shrimp, killie, spearing and best of all the early season schools of herring and bunker.
Before the annual migration of Hudson river stripers make their way into these bays, usually around the third week of April (depending on the water temps), the targets for me are the holdovers, which for many early weeks provide great action with a typical outing providing quality over quantity; many of these early bass are in the 10 to 30 lb. range. Normally I can expect to get about 2-4 weeks of this fishery before a slight lull, then on the next moon there is a resurgence of new bass, most of which are Hudson River bass migrating into these very same bays. Now there can normally be another month or more of steady and consistent action with daytime schoolies to the night time cows, and all within a simple 10 to 30 minute car ride, which for me is yet another reason I have targeted these waters for over 24 years
When it comes to early season action, does the time of day influence ones success?
Yes for the most part. While searching for quantity over quality, you are best to fish the daytime tides. A couple of consecutive sunny days will warm up the various mud flats, which is important to get things going. When searching for quality over quantity, one is better to fish the night tides of the early spring. The larger bass use the cover of night to provide additional security, which in the western sound is even more important as these bays are relatively shallow.
Is there a particular pattern when it comes to the weather you prefer to do your fishing in during the month of April?
For daytime schoolie action, I like to fish the last few hours of incoming through the first couple of the outgoing. Occasionally I like to fish the exact opposite as the water gets to warm up more, to find that magic couple of hours where the bite can often yield 50-100 schoolie on a single tide. I think if I were to put together a weather/tide/moon situation that I would be very ready and eager to put in some serious time, I would prefer the nights around a new moon with the beginning of a gentle southwest wind at dead low tide. I will totally stay away from most of my key areas when the wind has been mostly out of the north, blowing over 15 MPH for an extended period of time, especially and in particular the Northwest or “Northworst” winds. These winds whip across the sound right into these fairly shallow, muddy bays, and the water quickly goes from reasonably unstained to an downright coffee color within hours, which is some of the most unproductive water and wind conditions for these general areas.