It was a scene that was downright frightening.  We had just cleared the inner Shagwong buoy on this crisp late May morning in the hopes of grabbing a few of the newly arriving striped bass. As we approached the lighthouse area, there appeared to be a low lying cloud bank hovering over the water. It wasn't a cloud in the regular sense of the word, but a cloud nonetheless consisting of hundreds of feeding terns and gulls.  In the midst of all this were schools of feeding striped bass driving small sand eels and anchovies to the surface. We took a quick look around with the machine and marked a nice stack of fish just uptide of an area known as the elbow. Keeping the boat in forward gear, 3 ounce diamond jigs were sent down to the bottom.  As soon as the reels were engaged, two of the rods doubled over with nice fish.  I took the boat out of gear to fight the fish, and in short order a pair of nice teen size fish hit the deck.  Before the morning flood tide was over, more than 20 stripers would hit the deck with most being released and several 20 pound class fish hitting the dinner table.

Giant 40 lb. bass caught aboard The Masterpiece on Saturday, June 23rd.	Kari E. Kaplan from Prudential Real Estate was high hook 7 lb fluke on the “ EBB TIDE ”

In what has become an annual right of spring some of the best early striper fishing occurs long before the summer crowds of fishermen show up. Usually around the middle of May, the first schools of arriving baitfish consisting of sand eels, small anchovies, and small herring make their appearance. Right behind them are the first of the migrating schools of fish from the Chesapeake Bay region. These fish will often feed for a week or so and then head up the coast as the schools of bait continue on their migrations as well.  Additional bodies of fish will then filter through through the area at varying intervals throughout the rest of the season, but it is the main spring arrivals that allow for some of the best diamond jigging of the year.

Capt. Mark Marose charter NYFD Eng 74 Hook n Ladder 52 caught bass, bluefish n fluke, John Breen was high hook with a 30 lb bass and Kenny Winslow with a 7 lb fluke	Fluke fishing in Montauk the best in years Andy Sabin of Easthampton went South of Montauk on board the "Above the Ground" Andy's son Sam landed this 11-1/4 pounder they returned to Montauk Marine with their limit for the day.

We are going to take a quick look at some the best methods for diamond jigging as well as the required tackle for this type of fun fishing. On the tackle side. I start out with 20 pound class outfits which will be suited for just about all types of jigging..  There are a number of suitable reels for this fishing, it is really a matter of personal choice. One thing that I have found is that you maximize your hookups when using the braided line rather than mono line, particularly when there is a strong tide running and you are having a bit of difficulty finding bottom with the jig. Use a 40 pound test braid, and you will get a feel for bottom that is unmatched. All you need to do is add a three foot length of 50 pound leader material with a small black barrel swivel, and you will be set.

The type of jig you use is also a matter of personal preference as well.  My favorite jig is the 3 ounce hammered chrome plated jig.  The straight A-27 jig will work well as will some of the Mega bait lures which mimic baits such as small herring and anchovies. You can use these jigs in weights from as little as 2 ounces to as much as 4 ounces.  A good rule of thumb is to use the lightest weight jig that you can to get to the bottom.  The smaller lures do seem to work better.

The most effective method for fishing the jig is called stemming the tide.  What you do is set up the boat uptide of the spot that you are planning to fish and with the boat in gear, lower the jigs to the bottom.  Once the jig hits bottom, the reel is engaged and the lure is slowly retrieved several feet off the bottom.  If no strike is forthcoming,  the whole procedure is then repeated again several times. Usually the strike will come on the first bounce of the jig.  When the fish are really thick and spread over a wide area, then straight up and down jigging will work.  Here all you do is set the boat up for a drift uptide of where you want to fish and make a drift through the area.  Let the jig down to the bottom and once it hits, begin a slow, steady retrieve back to the surface.  Keep repeating this until you get a hit. Most of the time you will know where to fish by keeping a lookout for where the birds are setting up.  At this time of the year wherever  you see a good clump of birds there will be some feeding fish.  Some of the more productive areas around Montauk at this time of the year include the elbow and pollack rip.  It also is a good rule of thumb to keep the following adage in mind when fishing "Spring in-Fall out".  This is a reference to the preferential tides that you are looking to fish.  The incoming tide is better in the spring, and the outgoing tide is better in the fall. So no matter when you fish, if you are looking for some light tackle action, keep the diamonds of spring in mind.