There are two fresh bodies of water in Montuak: Fort Pond and Hidden Pond. Both ponds hold a variety of species. Fort Pond has nice shoreline access. Hidden Pond is best fished via kayak. With limited access and time, I focused my energy on Fort Pond.
You can access Fort Pond by way of the boat ramp on South Erie Street. There are flats on either side of the boat ramp. As you face the boat ramp, the flat to the left has more vegetation and the flat to the right has more rocks embed into the bottom. The deeper water is a good cast’s distance away.
During my recongonsize, I found lots of bait on the flats. I fan casted the flats with every presentation in my AquaSkinz Cobra Bag. Not even a bump! 🙁
While wading through the flats to get into position to cast into the deeper water, I saw swans and deer. As the swans swam by, they did not twitch a feather. The deer paused, stared me down, and then galloped away.
I propelled every presentation in my bag as far as my St. Croix Mojo Bass rod would hurl them. I retrieved each presentation accordingly through the depth transition (15 feet to 5 feet) until they reached my boots. The first fish hit a spinner bait (white/chartreuse) with a white Gary Yamamoto curly tail grub. The fish jumped completely out of the water. An absolutely amazing fish! The second fish hit the same spinner bait, just a few yards down. The bite “died”.
I quickly swithed leaders via loop-to-loop knot and sliped on a Gary Yamamotosenko (Watermelon with Black and Red Flake / 6 inch) onto my Tactical Anglers clip. Thanks to my polarized sunglasses, I watched the third fish swim from deep water and strike my wacky rigged Gary Yamamoto senko as gravity pulled it to the pond’s muddy bottom. OMG! What an incredible display of animal aggression! The bite “died” again. 🙁
I slipped a Slug Go (Arkansas Shiner, 6 inch) onto my Tactical Anglers clip and twitched it thought the depth transition. BANG! Fish on!!
This fish had bite marks on it’s back and tail. Clearly the Walleyes in the pond were hungry!
Montauk is legendary for hunting striped bass in the Atlantic. But, it also has a great freshwater fishery. On your next trip to Montauk, be sure to pick up a copy of Long Island’s Best Freshwater Fishing by Tom Schlichter, get your New York Freshwater Fishing license and bring your freshwater gear. When you arrive, stop by Paulie’s of Montauk!
