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I went to the seminar on February 12th fearing the drive the most. Oceanside L.I. is about seven miles past Kennedy Airport and through what can be the worst kind of NY traffic. I was surprised when I got there in less than 2 hours because early Saturday morning is not that bad. First impressions: this is the land where ten foot rods and Van Staal reels rule, and everybody fishes bucktails in the surf at least part of the time.

There were panel discussions for the whole group and they covered the three major areas of L.I. surf fishing: the South Shore, Montauk, and the North Shore. Arranged around the perimeter were the presenters who would deal with people one-on-one about their area of expertise. It was an interesting day with a variety of information available.

I would like to try Montauk in the future so this interested me the most. Of course some of their techniques can certainly be adapted for use around here. First, all of the guys had modified their surf bags for extreme conditions. Brass clips were sew into the bottom corners of their bags so they can be fastened to their belts with D-rings to keep them from flopping around, and they put lots of extra Velcro on the bags to keep them closed. They all carry brass Chatillion scales in homemade holsters for catch and release. Everybody carries a container of pork rinds for dressing their jigs that are fished consistently throughout the L.I. surf. In addition to the wading equipment they use, they adapt equipment from dive stores for some of their belts etc. For further information on Montauk try www.surfcasting.com which is a web site run by Montauk resident Paul Melnyk.

The most interesting character at the seminar was Billy “The Greek” Legakis a famous highliner on the South Shore. He consistently scores bass in the 40’s and got 49 and 59 pounders in ’98! He is a real character with a long Pancho Villa mustache who fishes “100 hours” a week from May to November. The only secret he did not reveal is how he can be free to fish that much. Ten-foot rods, Penn Squidder with 50-pound mono are his tools and he fishes inlets jetties and beaches according to conditions. Billy prefers live eels and chunking the most for catching big fish. Some of his basic theories are:

Every beach has its optimum wind conditions and should only be fished when these conditions prevail. If the wind changes go to where it is favorable.
The really big fish do hit in the dark, but he has gotten more big fish lately on the day bite.
Big fish often hit on calm flat water. Rough water will produce more smaller fish, but the big ones prefer it calm.
The best of the big fish tides are the four days surrounding the new and full moons. Really big fish often hit on dead low tide.
He makes long casts to fish the outside of the bars near the openings because the big fish often hang out there and wait while the smaller fish go in ahead of them.
While chunking use the freshest bait possible; if it is alive when he cuts it, all the better. After casting he waits three minutes and then begins to move the bait in. He never fishes a chunk more than ten minutes before replacing it. He always holds the rod and never puts it into a rod holder because some of the biggest fish just inhale the bait and do not move away right away and the pick up feels very light.

So there it is, some really interesting and controversial theories by a highly successful big-fish expert. I will try to go back next year, so let me know if you would like to hitch a ride…but we have a fishing season ahead of us.


Review of February 2000 Coastal Conservation Association of New York Annual Seminar By Jerry van de Sande I went to the seminar on February 12th fearing the drive the most. Oceanside L.I. is about seven miles past Kennedy Airport and through what can be the worst kind of NY traffic. I was surprised when I got there in less than 2 hours because early Saturday morning is not that bad. First impressions: this is the land where ten foot rods and Van Staal reels rule, and everybody fishes bucktails in the surf at least part of the time. There were panel discussions for the whole group and they covered the three major areas of L.I. surf fishing: the South Shore, Montauk, and the North Shore. Arranged around the perimeter were the presenters who would deal with people one-on-one about their area of expertise. It was an interesting day with a variety of information available. I would like to try Montauk in the future so this interested me the most. Of course some of their techniques can certainly be adapted for use around here. First, all of the guys had modified their surf bags for extreme conditions. Brass clips were sew into the bottom corners of their bags so they can be fastened to their belts with D-rings to keep them from flopping around, and they put lots of extra Velcro on the bags to keep them closed. They all carry brass Chatillion scales in homemade holsters for catch and release. Everybody carries a container of pork rinds for dressing their jigs that are fished consistently throughout the L.I. surf. In addition to the wading equipment they use, they adapt equipment from dive stores for some of their belts etc. For further information on Montauk try www.surfcasting.com which is a web site run by Montauk resident Paul Melnyk. The most interesting character at the seminar was Billy “The Greek” Legakis a famous highliner on the South Shore. He consistently scores bass in the 40’s and got 49 and 59 pounders in ’98! He is a real character with a long Pancho Villa mustache who fishes “100 hours” a week from May to November. The only secret he did not reveal is how he can be free to fish that much. Ten-foot rods, Penn Squidder with 50-pound mono are his tools and he fishes inlets jetties and beaches according to conditions. Billy prefers live eels and chunking the most for catching big fish. Some of his basic theories are: Every beach has its optimum wind conditions and should only be fished when these conditions prevail. If the wind changes go to where it is favorable. The really big fish do hit in the dark, but he has gotten more big fish lately on the day bite. Big fish often hit on calm flat water. Rough water will produce more smaller fish, but the big ones prefer it calm. The best of the big fish tides are the four days surrounding the new and full moons. Really big fish often hit on dead low tide. He makes long casts to fish the outside of the bars near the openings because the big fish often hang out there and wait while the smaller fish go in ahead of them. While chunking use the freshest bait possible; if it is alive when he cuts it, all the better. After casting he waits three minutes and then begins to move the bait in. He never fishes a chunk more than ten minutes before replacing it. He always holds the rod and never puts it into a rod holder because some of the biggest fish just inhale the bait and do not move away right away and the pick up feels very light. So there it is, some really interesting and controversial theories by a highly successful big-fish expert. I will try to go back next year, so let me know if you would like to hitch a ride…but we have a fishing season ahead of us.