Gone Fishin': Pre-Storm Angling Brought Big Catches

Prior to Hurricane Irene's arrival last week, several fishermen had great days on the water, catching huge fish.

Captain Al Lorenzetti fished with Mike Lippman and his sons Sammy and Max and daughter Hannah in Babylon last week, and the fishing was solid.

"We had a good half-day trip with bluefish, fluke and seabass," said Lorenzetti. "We caught tons of short fluke and one keeper. We also had a bunch of cocktail blues and a keeper sea bass. The weather was great, but a little windy, and we all had fun. It was another great day on the water."

Fishing in approximately 70 feet of water, just south of the Fire Island Lighthouse last Tuesday (August 23), Maximus Albanese caught an absolute sea monster: an 11.1-pound fighting bluefish.

"We came across several schools of bunker, and then we jigged for big gorilla bluefish for an hour,' said Jack Albanese, Maximus' father. "Boy do they put up a fight."

Another awesome catch ocurred not in salt water, but in fresh water last week as Joseph Pagillo reeled in a nice largemouth bass while fishing right in his own backyard in Islip.

Now that Irene has come and gone, local anglers said they're eager to get out in the waters and see if fishing remains hot as the Labor Day weekend arrives.

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