In the ‘fishing capital of the world’, there is never a shortage of boat traffic and with its latest equipment, Montauk Anglers Club & Marina on Long Island, New York, is now prepared for the busiest time of year. The enterprise (www.montaukanglersclub.com) began operating in October, 2018, but was previously known by its previous name, ‘Gone Fishing Marina’ since its foundation in 1978.

The new owner was a long-time customer of Gone Fishing for over 20 years. The well-established relationship between him and the prior owner led to them working very closely during the transition to Montauk Anglers Club & Marina.The goal was to maintain the tradition of being a premier destination for fishermen whilst making modern upgrades to the boatyard.

Montauk Anglers Club & Marina is a full service marina located on the North-East corner of Lake Montauk. The marina is less than one mile from the inlet, featuring quick access to offshore fishing on Long Island and is known for its easy access to the recreational waters of Napeague Bay, Gardiners Bay and Peconic Bay.

The marina is equipped with 162 berths and a yard that can accommodate approximately 175 boats for Winter storage. The facility offers seasonal and transient moorings and has a full service department. It is a licenced dealer for Yamaha and Mercury outboards, with full-time master mechanics on the staff. Other amenities include a restaurant, petrol and diesel fuel, bait and tackle, ice, a chandlery store and dockside fish cleaning stations. For transient and seasonal berth holders the marina provides electricity and water, bathrooms with showers and Wi-Fi access.

“We primarily serve sport and recreational fishermen,” confirmed Rose Worthy, Marina Manager at Montauk Anglers Club & Marina. “There are also several charter boats at our marina. The service department works on all types of craft and is available to service boats throughout Montauk and the local community. We are here year-round to help any boater who needs us!”

In early 2019, the Montauk Anglers Club & Marina began to explore the idea of replacing its 30-yearold boat handling equipment. “It was time to modernise our equipment and have the ability to handle increasingly larger fishing vessels with outboard engines,” said Worthy. “We looked to Marine Travelift because they offered the most advanced boat hoists and forklifts, which are made explicitly for marina activity. We know a lot of other state-of-the-art marinas that have complete trust in their Marine Travelift equipment.”

In late 2019, the marina ultimately upgraded its lifting capabilities by adding a Marine Travelift 50 BFMII mobile boat hoist and a M2800H Hydro M_Drive marine forklift truck. The team decided on the boat hoist and forklift combination after visiting other marinas and assessing the current state of boating. It recognised that with the growing popularity of center console fishing boats, it needed a way to handle both service and storage needs. The forklift allows marina staff to easily retrieve, launch and store vessels up to 27,000 lb and pick centre console boats up to 40 ft.

“With its new Marine Travelift 50BFMII mobile boat hoist, the Montauk Anglers Club & Marina has increased its lifting capacity by nearly 50% and can now handle boats weighing up to 110,000 lb,” explained Jack Anderson, Director of Marine Travelift Operations at Martin Walter Company. “In addition to being able to lift bigger vessels, it also has added clearance with the top beam extension, making it easier to lift vessels of different sizes without the need to adjust the rigging.”

With these new, greater capacity vessel handling systems, the club is ready to serve the needs of the Eastern end of the Long Island boating community and, notwithstanding the current Covid 19 pandemic, it anticipates a busy season ahead. 

With a plethora of bass, bluefish, cod, mahi-mahi and many more types of fish in the local waters, it is no wonder Montauk has been a fishing hotspot for many years.

“During our busy season, the doors open at 5 a.m. to provide bait, tackle, ice and other provisions for the fisherman, who like to catch the sunrise bite. As the morning progresses and our full crew arrives to work, we embark on service and maintenance jobs for local boaters; everything from hauling and powerwashing to complex outboard engine repairs and repowers. Our bait and tackle store operates all day and, as the afternoon arrives, our weigh station and fish fillet stations begin to fill up,” reported Worthy.

With the increase in boating traffic during the season, the marina staff grows from nine full-time employees to a team of 16. It is marinas such as this that ensure local economies continue to thrive as they bring in new employees, charters, tourists and more business to the area.

“It has been wonderful working on this project with the Montauk Anglers’ team,” agreed Anderson. “Having the 50 BFMII mobile boat hoist and M2800H Hydro M_Drive forklift easily accessible to the boating community in the Montauk area is going to be a benefit for years to come.”