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January 24, 2008 - Pier fishing without peerJanuary 24, 2008 • The Suffolk Times • 11A Black skimmers, with their colorful odd- shaped bills, were once common in our bays. It's always a thrill to see these large shorebirds flying just inches This Royal tern flew too close to men fishing off the pier and got entangled in above the water as their bills cut through in search of food. Sorry to say we a nylon fish line. Luck was with it, though as it was rescued, untangled, dried no longer find these handsome skimmers working our bays, except on rare and set free. Without that assistance the bird would surely have drowned. occasions. Pier fishing without out e er. We are on a sun- drenched island in the Gulf of Mexico that for years has been attached to the mainland by bridges of one sort or another. The rea- son I say "one sort or another" is that hurricanes and tropical storms have, at times, destroyed man's effort to main- tain a bridge between the island and the mainland. The bridges were of different types In the early 1900s FOCUS a wooden draw- bridge was built ON that worked well for a while but, NATURE like all things, by Paul "nothing lasts forever" and an- Stoutenburgh other bridge had to be built. More recently, a bridge was built a little farther north, leaving a section of the old bridge that is now used as a fishing pier. This fishing pier has recently been renovated. It's here we spend many hours, for it puts us out into the middle of the bay. In this recent renovation the pier was painted and updated.They remodeled the old restaurant so you can eat inside or out.There's also a bait shop being set up where you can buy live bait and rent fishing poles — everything you'd need for a day's fishing Of course, we had to try the new restaurant, which has a nice assortment of seafood dinners, plus the old standby of hamburgers, etc. Once when we visited the pier they were catching Spanish mackerel. See- ing the mackerel lying on the dock brought back memories of when a stu- dent of mine introduced me to mack- erel fishing. We used a rig with four or five jigs on the fine and fished in the deep water between Shelter Island and Greenport. I was amazed how quickly and forcefully the mackerel took to our rigs Sometimes we brought up three or four at a time. Back on the pier here we watched as a man threw out his bait net. When he brought it up and dumped it out, hun- dreds of tiny one- to two -inch bunkers landed on the dock. So now we knew what the mackerel were feeding on. Every once in a while we'd see these small schools of bunkers swimming by the pier. No wonder we'd seen so many cormorants diving in the bay during the day. It's something to see — hundreds of black cormorants thrashing about, i These Spanish mackerel were caught one evening off the old bridge pier. They are good eating and a sporty fish to catch. These mackerel were feeding on small schools of bunkers. diving and surfacing only to dive again until, for some reason, the feeding frenzy stops The mass of birds drifts away with the tide, only to regroup — and the slaughter starts allover. These are the same cormorants we see in our bays and creeks but never to the extent that we see them down here. We tried fishing off the pier but could catch only "small bait stealers" Yet on the other side of the pier they were doing pretty well catching mack- erel. Frustrating, but that's fishing. As we watched them fishing on the dock it made me think that if ever there were a perfect design for a fish, the mackerel would come close to winning the prize; dark above, to blend in with the water and escape being seen by predators, with silvery sides and a sleek, stream- lined, torpedo - shaped body. They are an excellent source of food; well worth the effort to try to catch them. The inshore mackerel being caught weigh one to three pounds; the record here in Florida is 12 pounds. All about the pier were birds diving down to pick up the bait that was mov- ing by. A Royal tern was one of the unfortunates that day, for as it flew by the pier it became entangled in one of the fishermen's nylon lines. What really added to the problem was that when the bird went down in the water, it thrashed about and became even more tangled as it struggled to free itself By now my son, who was standing by, pulled the line in with the bird at- tached and meticulously untangled it. If he hadn't done this, the bird would surely have drowned. Since its feathers were all wet and it couldn't fly, it was taken into a nearby building where it dried off to a point where it could be released. It was a Royal tern with a band on its leg, which we will send off so we can find out just where and when the bird was banded, and by whom. Later, as we peered into the dark- ness, we had a real treat watching black skimmers (large shorebirds) fly above the surface of the water, which was illuminated from the pier. As they searched for prey, the skimmers moved in and out of the darkness Back and forth they flew, only a few inches above the surface of the water, where their unique bills sliced through in hopes of picking up some small fish. The black skimmer's red -orange bill is uniquely designed so that when the bird flies close to the water, it lowers its bill into the water and hopefully picks up a meal on the wing. We see these birds in our bays today but nothing like years ago when they nested on Robins Island. Now we see them only occa- sionally, but it's always a thrill to see nature's design work out so beautifully. r— Vj— t January 24, 2008 • The Suffolk Times • 11A Black skimmers, with their colorful odd- shaped bills, were once common in our bays. It's always a thrill to see these large shorebirds flying just inches This Royal tern flew too close to men fishing off the pier and got entangled in above the water as their bills cut through in search of food. Sorry to say we a nylon fish line. Luck was with it, though as it was rescued, untangled, dried no longer find these handsome skimmers working our bays, except on rare and set free. Without that assistance the bird would surely have drowned. occasions. Pier fishing without out e er. We are on a sun- drenched island in the Gulf of Mexico that for years has been attached to the mainland by bridges of one sort or another. The rea- son I say "one sort or another" is that hurricanes and tropical storms have, at times, destroyed man's effort to main- tain a bridge between the island and the mainland. The bridges were of different types In the early 1900s FOCUS a wooden draw- bridge was built ON that worked well for a while but, NATURE like all things, by Paul "nothing lasts forever" and an- Stoutenburgh other bridge had to be built. More recently, a bridge was built a little farther north, leaving a section of the old bridge that is now used as a fishing pier. This fishing pier has recently been renovated. It's here we spend many hours, for it puts us out into the middle of the bay. In this recent renovation the pier was painted and updated.They remodeled the old restaurant so you can eat inside or out.There's also a bait shop being set up where you can buy live bait and rent fishing poles — everything you'd need for a day's fishing Of course, we had to try the new restaurant, which has a nice assortment of seafood dinners, plus the old standby of hamburgers, etc. Once when we visited the pier they were catching Spanish mackerel. See- ing the mackerel lying on the dock brought back memories of when a stu- dent of mine introduced me to mack- erel fishing. We used a rig with four or five jigs on the fine and fished in the deep water between Shelter Island and Greenport. I was amazed how quickly and forcefully the mackerel took to our rigs Sometimes we brought up three or four at a time. Back on the pier here we watched as a man threw out his bait net. When he brought it up and dumped it out, hun- dreds of tiny one- to two -inch bunkers landed on the dock. So now we knew what the mackerel were feeding on. Every once in a while we'd see these small schools of bunkers swimming by the pier. No wonder we'd seen so many cormorants diving in the bay during the day. It's something to see — hundreds of black cormorants thrashing about, i These Spanish mackerel were caught one evening off the old bridge pier. They are good eating and a sporty fish to catch. These mackerel were feeding on small schools of bunkers. diving and surfacing only to dive again until, for some reason, the feeding frenzy stops The mass of birds drifts away with the tide, only to regroup — and the slaughter starts allover. These are the same cormorants we see in our bays and creeks but never to the extent that we see them down here. We tried fishing off the pier but could catch only "small bait stealers" Yet on the other side of the pier they were doing pretty well catching mack- erel. Frustrating, but that's fishing. As we watched them fishing on the dock it made me think that if ever there were a perfect design for a fish, the mackerel would come close to winning the prize; dark above, to blend in with the water and escape being seen by predators, with silvery sides and a sleek, stream- lined, torpedo - shaped body. They are an excellent source of food; well worth the effort to try to catch them. The inshore mackerel being caught weigh one to three pounds; the record here in Florida is 12 pounds. All about the pier were birds diving down to pick up the bait that was mov- ing by. A Royal tern was one of the unfortunates that day, for as it flew by the pier it became entangled in one of the fishermen's nylon lines. What really added to the problem was that when the bird went down in the water, it thrashed about and became even more tangled as it struggled to free itself By now my son, who was standing by, pulled the line in with the bird at- tached and meticulously untangled it. If he hadn't done this, the bird would surely have drowned. Since its feathers were all wet and it couldn't fly, it was taken into a nearby building where it dried off to a point where it could be released. It was a Royal tern with a band on its leg, which we will send off so we can find out just where and when the bird was banded, and by whom. Later, as we peered into the dark- ness, we had a real treat watching black skimmers (large shorebirds) fly above the surface of the water, which was illuminated from the pier. As they searched for prey, the skimmers moved in and out of the darkness Back and forth they flew, only a few inches above the surface of the water, where their unique bills sliced through in hopes of picking up some small fish. The black skimmer's red -orange bill is uniquely designed so that when the bird flies close to the water, it lowers its bill into the water and hopefully picks up a meal on the wing. We see these birds in our bays today but nothing like years ago when they nested on Robins Island. Now we see them only occa- sionally, but it's always a thrill to see nature's design work out so beautifully. January 24, 2008 • The Suffolk Times without ler fishin eer Suffolk Times photos by Barbara Stoutenburgh Black skimmers, with their colorful odd - shaped bills, were once common in our bays. It's always a thrill to see these large shorebirds flying just inches above the water as their bills cut through in search of food. Sorry to say we no longer find these handsome skimmers working our bays, except on rare Ir pn who 00 This Royal tern flew too close to men fishing off the pier and got entangled in a nylon fish line. Luck was with it, though as it was rescued, untangled, dried and set free. Without that assistance the bird would surely have drowned. We are on a sun- drenched island in the Gulf of Mexico that for years has been attached to the mainland by bridges of one sort or another. The rea son I say "one sort or another" is that hurricanes and tropical storms have, at times, destroyed man's effort to main- tain a bridge between the island and the mainland. The bridges were of different types. In the early 1900: FOCUS a wooden draw- bridge was built O N that worked we I for a while but, NATURE like all things, by Paul "nothing lasts forever" and an- Stoutenburgh other bridge had to be built. More recently, a bridge was built a little -farther north, leaving a section of the old bridge that is now used as a fishing pier. This fishing pier has recently been renovated. It's here we spend many hours, for it puts us out into the middle of the bay. In this recent renovation the pier was painted and updated. They remodeled the old restaurant so you can eat inside or out. There's also a bait shop being set up where you can buy live bait and rent fishing poles — everything you'd need for a day's fishing. Of course, we had to try the new restaurant, which has a nice assortment of seafood dinners, plus the old standby of hamburgers, etc. Once when we visited the pier they were catching Spanish mackerel. See- ing the mackerel lying on the dock brought back memories of when a stu- dent of mine introduced me to mack- erel fishing. We used a rig with four or five jigs on the line and fished in the deep water between Shelter Island and Greenport. I was amazed how quickly and forcefully the mackerel took to our rigs. Sometimes we brought up three or four at a time. Back on the pier here we watched as a man threw out his bait net. When he brought it up and dumped it out, hun- dreds of tiny one- to two -inch bunkers landed on the dock. So now we knew what the mackerel were feeding on. Every once in a while we'd see these small schools of bunkers swimming by the pier. No wonder we'd seen so many cormorants diving in the bay during the day. It's something to see — hundreds of black cormorants thrashing about, living and surfacing only to dive again intil, for some reason, the feeding !renzy stops. The mass of birds drifts away with the tide, only to regroup — ind the slaughter starts all over. These ire the same cormorants we see in our gays and creeks but never to the extent that we see them down here. We tried fishing off the pier but -ould catch only "small bait stealers." Yet on the other side of the pier they were doing pretty well catching mack- erel. Frustrating, but that's fishing. As we watched them fishing on the dock i made me think that if ever there were a perfect design for a fish, the mackere would come close to winning the prize dark above, to blend in with the water and escape being seen by predators, with silvery sides and a sleek, stream- lined, torpedo- shaped body. They are an excellent source of food; well wortf the effort to try to catch them. The .N inshore mackerel being caught weigh one to three pounds; the record here in Florida is 12 pounds. All about the pier were birds diving down to pick up the bait that was mov- ing by. A Royal tern was one of the unfortunates that day, for as it flew by the pier it became entangled in one of the fishermen's nylon lines. What reall) added to the problem was that when the bird went down in the water, it thrashed about and became even more tangled as it struggled to free itself. By now my son, who was standing by, pulled the line in with the bird at- tached and meticulously untangled it. If he hadn't done this, the bird would surely have drowned. Since its feather were all wet and it couldn't fly, it was taken into a nearby building where it dried off to a point where it could be released. It was a Royal tern with a band on its leg, which we will send off so we can find out just where and when the bird was banded, and by whom. Later, as we peered into the dark- ness, we had a real treat watching black skimmers (large shorebirds) fly above the surface of the water, which was illuminated from the pier. As they searched for prey, the skimmers moved in and out of the darkness. Back and forth they flew, only a few inches above the surface of the water, where their unique bills sliced through in hopes of picking up some small fish. The black skimmer's red - orange bill is uniquely designed so that when the bird flies close to the water, it lowers its bill into the water and hopefully picks Lip a meal on the wing. We see these )irds in our bays today but nothing like dears ago when they nested on Robins Island. Now we see them only occa- sionally, but it's always a thrill to see iature's design work out so beautifully. These Spanish mackerel were caught one evening off the old bridge pier. They are good eating and a sporty fish catch. These mackerel were feeding on small schools of bunkers. A � ,r usr `4 r- These Spanish mackerel were caught one evening off the old bridge pier. They are good eating and a sporty fish catch. These mackerel were feeding on small schools of bunkers.