Fishing Report: A Surprise Cod Caught in the Sound

Captain Desmond from Celtic Quest has some interesting news in his fishing report on Sunday.

“The highlight of the week was catching a cod in Long Island Sound in August,” he wrote. Although they released the fish it him thinking of the cod fishing trips out of Montauk.

Last week we caught in Mt. Sinai Harbor by a fisherman on a kayak. Certainly are some interesting fish tales being told out there.

Other than the stray cod in the Sound, Captain Desmond reported a “real nice catch of porgies, sea bass and blues” on a trip on Monday.

“Nice to see everything coming to life,” he said. “Sea bass weighed up to 5 lbs today.”

So after a few weeks of slow fishing for Celtic Quest, “things are picking up nicely.”

He reported that the scuppin is improving each day and they’re seeing some sea bass and blues show up as well.

“Only going to get better as the fall run approaches (amazing we are talking about fall already),” he reported. “We will be bottom fishing everyday right through the fall.”

It’s definitely been a tough year. The phrases some anglers who fish out of Port Jefferson and Mount Sinai Harbor use are along the lines of “worst fishing season ever” and “lots of shorts but no keepers.”

Candy Caraftis said that the porgy fishing is “really good” and she reminded people not to forget to chum.

“It only costs you a couple of dollars more,” she reported. “But it sets the table for the porgies and keeps them around you.”

Candy also mentioned that she has a couple of great porgy recipes to share with anyone who stops by the fishing station.

What has become the typical refrain for 2011 she also reported that there’s plenty of action on the flukes “but not many keepers unfortunately.”

“I was hoping by now that we would have a big school of huge fish move through,” she said. “We still might, so we have to keep trying. I know it's frustrating.

The anglers say there are big blues and bass in the middle grounds and trolling by buoy 11 will get you some bigger fish.

“There are plenty of snappers around for the kids so get them out there before school starts,” she said. “This summer is going by way to fast.”

Don’t we know it. We’re already thinking about the end of August with the big blue fishing tournament coming up in a few weeks. With $25,000 on the line they don’t call it the Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth for nothing. Remember to register. The fee is $42 per fisherman and you can sign up at or online.

Have a fishing report of your own to share? Let us know in the comments or email editor Lon Cohen at lon.cohen@patch.com.