It was going to be hot this week, and I (Larry Mangels) knew I was heading to Montauk. The question was, would I find anyone to tag along on this trip. I posted the trip on Monday morning and by Tuesday morning I had 7 other FATC members signed up and ready to roll. Hot weather isn’t for the meek, but it didn’t stop Steve Baker, Scott Morris, Darrel Durst, Steve Sherlock, Ken Welter, Bob Hassett and Bob Palisch from joining the trip. As typical of most FATC trips to Montauk, we met at the Eureka commuter lot at 6:15 and were heading south on I-44 promptly at 6:17. We all made it to the park around 8:30 and were on the river around 9:00. Seemed like wet wading was the theme for the day.

Humidity was high early in the day, but the temperature was bearable. The consensus was the bite was a bit slow, except for a couple of guys who did rather well. There were plenty of fish in the river, the trick was figuring out what they were looking for. 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 seemed to pick up in the afternoon for most everyone. I have to believe the note comparison at lunch contributed to the afternoon results. The hot flies of the day were foam beetle (hopper), zebra midge, micro egg, crackleback, blow torch and pink hog.  

Everyone was back to the naturalist cabin at 4:30 and began the process to pack it all up. Another awesome day for the FATC team enjoying God’s creation and the tug on the end of the line. We left the park a little after 5:00 and enjoyed a great fellowship dinner at American Taco in Rolla. A very enjoyable way to finish off a great day at Montauk.