The Hamptons & Montauk
(May through November)
 From
May through August, Dixon and the guides of To the Point Charters
fish the crystal clear waters off East Hampton and Gardiners Island,
sight fishing for striped bass and bluefish. Dixon is renowned
for bringing Florida-style sightfishing to Long Island, where
he poles in flats boats adapted for local waters.
 Through
years of trial and error, he not only perfected the technique
but discovered the spots that are now legendary on the East End.
His continual innovation and encyclopedic knowledge of tidal flow
and underwater structure often allow anglers to hook trophy fish
when there is no overt sign of their presence. The rewards of
sighting your prey and watching your fly inhaled by stripers and
bluefish in 3-foot "shallows" is unsurpassed.
 In
late August, Dixon and his fleet move from East Hampton to Montauk
Point, where the trip to the fall blitzes is only minutes by boat.
In the fall, masses of rainbait (bay anchovies) swarm the waters
off the Montauk Lighthouse. Every bass, blue, and false albacore
stops on migration down the Eastern seaboard to gorge on this
copious feast. This feeding frenzy causes the water to churn on
the surface, often for hours, in the legendary "fall blitzes"
that draw avid anglers from all over the world. A trip spent hooking
10- to 20-pound bass and "albies" as they slash through
acres of rainbait invariably results in sore arms and great memories.
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In late November and early December, the herring run begins
and draws trophy fish of up to 40 pounds to the surface from
the rips off Montauk, providing the fly rodder with an opportunity
to catch a real monster striper.
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The Blitz off Montauk Point |
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