Montauk Trip – July 30, 2026

I had a free day on Thursday, and the weather looked like it would be good for a trip to Montauk. I posted the trip on Monday and by Wednesday afternoon I found five wiling gentlemen to join me on the trip. Ken Welter, Steve Baker, Bob Burns, Glenn Haake, Bob Palisch and myself (Larry Mangels) met at the Eureka commuter lot and were on the road by 6:15. We all made it to the park around 8:15 and after buying our daily tag, we were on the river by 9:00. 

We had scattered clouds throughout the morning and when the sun was out it was a bit hot. Along with the hot weather, the fish bite was also hot. A vast majority of the success was with a green perdigon. We all convened at noon for a quick bite to eat and to compare notes on the successes and failures in the morning. The activity was still strong in the afternoon for most everyone. Very little activity was seen on top of the water, until later in the day when a few fish were caught with a small dry fly. The hot flies of the day were a green perdigon, egg pattern, crackleback, and soft hackle.

A lesson learned during the day. While in Colorado at the Fly Fishing School, Pat Dorsey (Colorado guide) told me when indicator fishing to set the hook if you saw a flash even if the indicator wasn’t moving. I was a bit hesitant with that advice, turns out that Pat knows what he is talking about. My indicator didn’t indicate, but I saw a flash and set the hook. Another one bites the net. 

The group consensus was since the fishing was good, we would meet back at the naturalist cabin at 5;00. On the way home we stopped in Salem at JB Malone’s for an enjoyable fellowship dinner. A very enjoyable way to finish off a great day at Montauk.