Page 14 - Demo

Sheepshead Bay Is For FishEver get the urge for some really fresh blue fish, fluke, porgies, sea bass? Even if youdon%u2019t have your own fishing pole, have never fished before or don't even know how to bait ahook, there%u2019s still no reason to sit home and dream. Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and CityIsland in the Bronx offer daily fishing excursions that are geared for everybody %u2014 noviceand expert, if you have your own equipment, bring it; if not, rods and reels rent for $2 onboard %u2014 bait is supplied and instructions, if necessary, on how to get it all set up.Open boats and charters leave from Sheepshead Bay. There are some 20 open boats,carrying approximately 100 people each, sailing from Emmons Avenue piers and nearbyGerritsen Beach. These engage in one of three types of fishing: blue fishing for about $23 aperson; fluke fishing for about $15 a person and $8 for a half day; bottom fishing (sea bass,black fish and porgies) for about $15. No reservations are necessary on these boats %u2014come down about a half hour before siling time and take your choice. The most completelisting of boats and sailing times can be found in the Friday edition of the Daily News, butboats going for blues generally depart at 6 or 7 am and again at 7 pm returningapproximately 8 hours later. Fluke fishing excursions and bottom fishing trips go out in themorning and again in the afternoon.%u201c Some of the best skippers are in Sheepshead Bay,%u201d says Captain Tony Cosentino of thecharter boats Wahoo III and Mako II, and who has been fishing out of Sheepshead Baymost of his life. About 15 charter boats leave from Brooklyn; these boats take out muchsmaller groups than the open boats and must be reserved in advance. A 6-person charterruns about $150 to $200: for 20 persons the fee is $270 to $325. Charters may go for stripedbass, blues, fluke, black fish, sea bass, tuna fish, or even sharks, if they%u2019re around.The boats, which are equipped with ship-to-shore, radar and depth finders, %u201c rarely comeback empty-handed. The majority of the time,%u201d says Captain Tony, %u201c they will score.%u201dIt%u2019s unusual, too, not to be able to get a place on an open boat. %u201c Maybe 3 times aseason,%u201d says Joe of Stella Maris Fishing Station in Sheepshead Bay, %u201c only when fishingis really exceptional will people be turned away.%u201dFour fishing boats sail out of City Island from 7:30 to 8:30 am. They%u2019re now going afterblack fish, porgies, and flounder, and the cost is $15.Boats sail daily; the fishing%u2019s good. There's the North Star, Ebb Tide, Apache, Lucky Starfrom City Island; and from Sheepshead Bay and nearby, the Amberjack V, Atomic, Chief,Brooklyn V, Helen H, Traveler, Tampa VI, Dolphin, Speedy, Big Captain Bob, Elsie K, SeaBoots, Mako II, Island Queen, Helen M, and more. Just take your pick. >' -^Betsy KissamPage 14. The PHOENIX. July 12.1979Stop Complaining,Start CrabbingThere may be no free lunch in New York, but you cancome pretty close. Starting about the middle of July andcontinuing through early October, blue claw crabs lurkaround bridge piling, piers, jettys and bulkheads in theharbors and rivers of the city. Catching them in traps issimple, inexpensive, fun and a great pastime for sunworshippers. No license is required for crabbing, there is nosize or quantity lim it %u2014only egg-bearing females or%u201c sponge%u201d crabs must be thrown back, and these are easilyidentified by the cluster of dark-brownish eggs on theunderbelly.\waters,%u201d says Charles Reisberg, Assistant to the DeputyCommissioner of the Department of Public Health,| %u201c because nobody eats crabs raw. They should be cookedand cooked thoroughly.%u201d As for past, or future, oil spills, oilgenerally stays on the surface of the water, but if it did reachthe bottom where the crabs live, the smell and taste of the| crabs would be affected. %u201c But no one would become sick%u00a7f from this,%u201d says Reisberg.Crabbing with crab traps is easy and inexpensive; TriangleStores in downtown Brooklyn carries traps from $2.98 for the| old-fashioned square design to $7.98 for the largest star| design trap, and Stella Maris Fishing Station in SheepsheadBay sells traps from $3.50 to $6.50 %u2014 traps are also available| in almost any fishing tackle or bait store, and most sportinggoods stores. A length of strong line to secure the traps isalso necessary, and so is bait. But crabs are scavengers.Almost anything will do for bait. John Lorber of TriangleStores, a longtime fisherman and crabber, is full of adviceon crabbing. %u201c Worms, squid, mossbunkers, mackerel,killies, spearing, chicken backs and necks, and meat %u2014 allmake excellent bait,%u201d he said. %u201c Almost anything you mighthave around.%u201d Or pick up scraps of meat from a meat market,fish scraps from a fish market, or buy bait. \crab,%u201d says Lorber, %u201c is during a high or incoming tide.%u201dCrabs are not strong enough to fight the current and followthe tide out.The city offers numerous places to throw your crab trap:the 69th Street pier in Bay Ridge (the Bay Ridge Avenue/4thAvenue stop on the B^IT line); the bridge on Cross BayBoulevard in Howard Beach (closest subway stop is HowardBeach/159th Street on the IND line); the bulkhead going eastthrough Jacob Riis Park right across the Marine ParkwayBridge; the Steeplechase pier at Coney Island (Coneyp Island/Stilwell Avenue and Knapp Street (closest subwaystop is Sheepshead Bay/E. 16th Street on the IND and BMTlines); the bulkheads at Great Kills National Park or PrinceBay on Staten Island; and more. Almost everybody has theirI own favorite spot. On bridges, you run the risk of being| asked to leave as fishing from them is not allowed in theI city, but this rarely happens.Once you catch them, crabs can be removed from traps bypicking them up from behind, but one easy way to avoid thesnapping claws is to use metal tongs or pliers. Bushelj%u00a7 baskets or burlap bags periodically wetted down, can beused to hold your crabs, or they can be kept in water but the| water should be refilled occasionally as the oxygen mayI become exaustea. uniy c o o k iive crausi Buii iiiem in a iiuyepot of water with spices for 15 to 20 minutes; for extra flavor,use stale beer. There%u2019s nothing as fresh as the crabs youcatch yourself, or as good! %u2014Betsy Kissam