David Siskind | Sunday, 14 September 2025
I love this place. The terrain is similar to that of nearby Cape Cod. There are relatively sheltered beaches facing Long Island Sound on the west margin, and rugged, rocky Atlantic facing beaches to the southeast. And there's the Great Salt Pond, a sheltered body, where my daughter and son-in-law are living on a miraculously inexpensive sloop. It’s connected to the sound by a channel to the northwest. There are stripers, bluefish and albacore to catch all summer and its shoulders. A lot of people fish the beach. The Coast Guard Channel is a prime spot right now for albies. Fishers cast metal lures (typically 4” long and slender) into the moving tides. Flyfishers typically cast a local 3” long epoxy-headed eel imitation available at the Twin Maples fishing store. I saw no fish busting, no fish caught while I was there. Only rumors. I’ve got to go more often to get smarter and luckier. .
The flyfishers on the beach were congenial and helpful. One veteran on the beach advised me, “just keep at it.” He is a beautiful caster and fishes efficiently. He was the only one out there using a floating line. I’m not sure why. I saw him on both tides I fished. Nice guy, Today we ran into each other again and exchanged information. His name is David too. He lives in Queens, NY and regularly fishes Breezy Point on the South Shore. I threatened to look him up when I move east and look forward to finding him on the beach there.
There are sandeels everywhere. I watched a cormorant scooping them up 15’ off the beach. It dived repeatedly, surfacing immediately with a wriggling little eelie each time. There must have been a river of them swimming along the edge of a shelf parallel to the beach. There’s also a lot of seals. They’re huge. Their heads look as big as basketballs. I hear it’s impossible to get a hooked fish past them at times.. And wind. During the two tides I fished it was blowing 15-17 mph steadily with gusts to 23. In the morning it was straight on-shore. In the afternoon it had clocked a bit to the right. I found I could cast further with my forehand stroke straight into the wind than backhand with quartering wind into my right shoulder. I have to fix this. It’s important.
It looks like I’m going to a farmers market today with my daughter Carrie, Jackie, and Joel when I could be fishing. And then we will go sailing. Better, but still, not fishing. I will end my stay here skunked. They are all heartless. I can’t believe my ill fortune.
David Siskind