MONTAUK FISHING - CHARTER BOAT MONTAUK

Charter Boat Montauk

2397 lb WHITE SHARK

Smaller fish available on request !

CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE A LARGER PICTURE OF THE WHITE SHARK

CAPTAIN MIKE ALBRONDA

2012 RATES

HALF DAY - $600

THREE QUARTER DAY $800

ALL DAY INSHORE - $1000

ALL DAY OFFSHORE - $1400

PRE & POST SEASON RATES

WEEKDAY RATES

631 668 2056

Direct E-Mail to Captain Mike

MONTAUK MONSTERS

454 LB THRESHER

300 LB MAKO

FILMED ON THE MONTAUK

Bass to 48.5 lbs

Nice going killer.

Three generations fishing on the
MONTAUK for 30 years

CHECK OUT THE FAMILY FISHING FOTOS

Heat Is On, Fish Are Biting

by Russell Drumm East Hampton Press September 29, 2010

As anyone who visited the ocean over the weekend will tell you, the water was, and continues to be, a beautiful light emerald green, and clear as quartz crystal. It’s also warm, 77 degrees only 10 miles from shore, and filled with tropical and Gulf Stream-migrating fish including those that fly.

“Bluefins, mahimahis, flying fish were spotted, and a lot of bait — mackerel. The water is as clean as it gets,” cooed Joe Gaviola, who went shark fishing on his Finest Kind boat on Sunday about 10 miles south of Montauk Point. About noon, in the same general area, the threads of a great fish story were being woven aboard the charter boats Montauk and Mistress II.

Capt. Mike Albronda of the Montauk had just begun towing a monster thresher shark before hoisting it aboard when Bart Ritchie, captain of the Mistress II, radioed to ask if he might move into the chum slick that had produced the big fish, Captain Albronda answered in the affirmative. Shortly thereafter, a rod bent deep on the Mistress, bowing to a thresher that later tipped the scales at 372 pounds.

On Friday, Manny Puig of Ultimate Predator Productions went offshore on the Montauk to swim with the sharks. Captain Albronda said that after a dusky shark was chummed up, Puig entered the water to hand-feed it. The free-diver and crew realized the big shark had swum into a plastic bag that was wrapped around its body, and was cutting into the animal. Puig was able to free the shark from its plastic bondage.

Grandpa Bob, Son Bob, grandson Bob

38 years on the Montauk 48 lb bass

FAMILIES ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

(MORE)

Montauk is the stuff of legends: the striper rocks in the shadow of the lighthouse at Montauk Point; the fluke grounds that stretch from the inlet to Block Island and beyond; the deep waters over the horizon where some of the biggest, meanest sharks ever landed haunted the depths.The legends are well founded but only hint at the abundance available to the visiting angler.

Through the Seasons
"Montauk is a four-season fishing paradise," says expert local angler Scott Shane. January, February and March are great months for cod fishing, he says. Expect fish up to 30 pounds east of the lighthouse, up to 30 miles out.In March and April the first stripers show. The big fluke start running in May, doormats to more than 20 pounds. "The beautiful thing about fluke fishing is you can catch them from the inlet in kayaks, on east for 120 miles," says Shane.Shark fishing heats up in the summer, a specialty in and of itself, with blues, makos and threshers heading the hit parade. Porgies join the inshore mix in July and August, and the same months see the action kick up in the canyons — Hudson, Block and Atlantis — on the edge of the continental shelf to the south.Tuna season runs from June through September. Small bluefins, 60- to 70-pounders, show up in June, followed by giants to 1,000 pounds and up and bigeyes, which run to 250 pounds. Standard canyonchumming strategy is the way to get them, with butterfish the bait of choice.Striper fishing holds up through November, and then tautog fishing kicks in to finish off the year.

Hit Parade
Most visiting anglers start with the prime months of summer and the mainstay species: stripers, fluke and sharks.Capt. Mike Albronda covers it all, but the bulk of his fishing is for striped bass, and he says August produces the biggest fish."Last year we had three fish in the 48- to 49-pound range," he says. "We troll with big tubes 2 to 3½ feet long. They're eel imitations, and we troll them at 2 to 3 knots." Albronda commonly trolls with wire line. "We have lots of current and need to get the lure down, and the wire line does that," he says.Early in the season when sand eels, sheering and bunker are the striper fare, trolled parachute lures and diamond jigs are both effective on fish from 15 to 30 pounds. For real trophies, Albronda heads for the shark grounds.

"The giant shark fishing is better here than almost any place in the world," he says. His website shows him sitting atop a 2,397-pound great white. Threshers and makos, which run up to more than 400 pounds, are also popular with his customers. Albronda chums heavily and fishes any live baits he can get, with a preference for bluefish.

Tackle Up
For most inshore work, 20-pound-test on a 6-foot boat rod will carry the day. For big bass you may want to heavy up, say 30- to 50-pound gear. The standard fluke rig is 20-pound braid or 30-pound mono on a rod stout enough to handle up to 12 ounces of lead, but sensitive enough to feel the bait on the bottom in 40 to 60 feet of water. Peanut bunker, strips and killifish are all effective baits, fished on a 5/0 to 7/0 hook. Pre-tied fluke rigs are readily available.Specialized pursuits, such as canyon fishing, demand the appropriate tackle: offshore gear in the 30, 50 and 80-pound class and enough boat to make the long trips to the continental shelf.

Environs
Getting to Montauk is simple. Head east out Long Island on Highway 27 until the road runs out. At Lake Montauk, just beyond the town, dockage is abundant and so are well-equipped tackle shops, chandleries and other services. Tides in the region are moderate; fog can be an issue when conditions are right. NOAA Chart 13205 will get you started learning your way around.

Looking for the world's greatest salt water fishing, Capt Mike Albronda came to Montauk on vacation and never left. That's not exactly true, but its not far off. He started his career in fishing straight out of high school, mating on Captain Al Coley's BETTY W out of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. This was back in 1964, and he has been making his living on the water ever since, except for a two year stint working for Uncle Sam.

In the summer of 1968, he and his wife took a busman's holiday, spending a week in Montauk. He wasn't here to fish everyday, but he did manage to make one trip on Captain Dick Vigilant's TRITON, which at the time was sailing as an open boat. The fishing was great and Mike left his catch with the crew to sell. When Dickie asked if he was coming back the next day Mike said he could only afford one trip.

Dickie didn't see that as a problem and invited him to fish for free, whenever he wanted. All he had to do was leave the fish to be sold at the dock. That was the beginning of Mike's life in Montauk. The next spring he returned as the mate on the TRITON. Mike continued on as mate until 1972, when Dick decided to change over to commercial fishing. That was no problem for Mike. He simply got another job, working with Captain Paul Sundberg on his charter boat,

he MONTAUK. When Paul's wife died and he started to develop health problems, Mike bought the MONTAUK.

The original MONTAUK was a big Chesapeake built wooden boat and was aging rapidly. The upkeep was getting to be more than the boat was worth and in 1985, Mike sold the old boat and brought a 41' fiberglass one, the SEAWEED, that formerly sailed out of Connecticut. It wasn't as big as the old boat, but it was much faster and more economical, both to run and to maintain. In addition it is a much larger and more comfortable boat with a giant cockpit.

Mike sails out of DURYEA'S DOCK, with much of his business devoted to family groups, and is especially good with kids.