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PAGE A12 » TIMES OF NORTHPORT « DECEMBER 15, 2005 BY ROBERT LEUNER Max Bartig's clutch fourth quarter play and Ben Atkinson's 20 points helped power the Northport Tiger boys' basketball team over Half Hollow Hits West in last Thursday's opening match of the Butch Dellecave Basketball Tournament at Smuthtown Last High School Bartig scored seven points and added two steals in the final frame as the Tigers pulled away from a determined Colts squad and mused to an easy 64 47 win Burg. who hadn't played sholastn basketball sume hus freshman year. ended the game with 11 points (all in the second half) \I just got into a rhythm.,\ sud Bartig of his sccond half play \I thought for the most part that it was a good team cffon We struggled a but in the first half, but the key v as our defense and bnnging pressure on them ~ Four Tigers scored in double figures, including Travis Burt with 12 points and Chins McCormack with 14 Bum also seven steals and McCormah hauled down six boards for the Tigers \I thought that we started out slow.\ sard Northport coach George Franch \We lacked inten sity. but the deeper we got into the game. the more we got going ~ Athinson Aramed three pointers in be \ost qauapernto help the Tig crs ean crcome an carts '3o6 lead bx fore thk Colts cut the lead in half to pull within three at the end of the quarter But the Tigem couldn't pull away from Half i020 dette Nocdhpor andt ap a BY ANGELO PELUSO By this time of year almost all saltwa ter have pulled their boats from the water. cleaned the barnacles from the hulls and have wintenzed the boat engines The vast mgjonty of surf fisher men have made their last treh down to the bea h and new smply caxcupy themselves a ith cleaning their gear and stonng it until the spring thaw For many. memones of the past wason will carry them through the fishless winter months Some may sven venture to more fnendly southerly mates to fish for tropical species of fish But some Long Iland dichards are just not ready to say no mus and concede defeat What keeps them plugging away is the anticipation of a late fall hemang run. Nothing warms the spit and hody of late fall and winter anglers more than a strong PORTS Northport wins tourney Burr has game-high 21 points in finals Hollow Hills West Shoddy ball handling by © Athinson and Shaun Clouse allowed the Cols to tay within stmking range Fortunately, Atkinson remained hot from the penmeter The junior guard | _ downed two more three pointers in the quarter giv ing the Tigers a slim 27-22 lead at the half Of || Athinson's game high 20 points, 16 came in the first half. Although it took time for them to get going. the Tigers eventually began to wear the Colts down by the end of the third period. Half Hollow Hills West | tarted the frame strong and erased the Northport lead when they went up 29-27 early in the third quarter. Stoppy play. thanks to a tenacious press by the Colts.continued to hinder Northport's effort.But |. _. 4 seven quick points in the final minute, including a Burt three-pointer at the buzzer. helped put the Tiger up 46 39 as the teams headed into the fourth quarter. Any aspirations the Colts had of upsetting the Tigers died in the fourth quarter. Northport's stingy defense limited the Colts to just four field goals the enture frame. But it was Bartig's back-to-back wipes that propelled the Tigers to a nine-point lead Moments later, Bartig scored from downtown to give Northport an insurmountable 53 41 lead Two days later the Tiger competed against Smithtown West in the championship game of the Butch Dellecave toumament and won 63-53. Bun slits. Photo by Rich Ruotolo had a game ligh 21 points and added eight Travis Burr scored 12 points and had seven steals for Northport as the Tigers defeated Half Hollow Hills West in a basketball tournament Herring put the game into overtime rebounds and four steals Atkinson had 18 points herring is not the primary appeal. What 1s - qetyy preference and feed aggressively. of interest are the larger striped bass that ® =~, run of herring Yet the actual catching of When herring are present in our waters, the striped bass I hmflfisblztgw feed voraciously on this late season vist tor That interaction between striper and herming is upon us and there is still time to cash in on the activity. The Atlantic hemng is a small, stream lined fish that feeds primanly on plankton It is a pelagin fish that ranges for hundreds of miles in the north Atlantic and its stocks are quite abundant. The herring's col oration is rather appealing to the eye; it has shvery ades with a white belly and topside that as comprised of indeswent green to grayish blue hues This type of shading is referred to as counter shading nature's way of camouflaging species that are preyed upon by predator fish But ofica enough that \camo\ is just Not sufi cient enough to keep the herring from harm's way, for its taste is quite appealing to the bass. When herring are present in our waters, the striped bass home in on this late season dictary preference and feed aggressively. The larger and more widespread the schools of herring, the more the bass will school in an attempt to maximize the consumption of this annual bounty. Some of the largest bass feeding binges of the season will occur at this time. The hcrting is a cold water fish that visits our water typically in late November and throughout December Unlike its rvet cousins. the Atlant her rng is not anadromous and spends all of its time in (hf marring C“Vif0fln)€nl Armund Long Island, the 'herfing can be found on both shores On the north shore the best: chances for locating herring will be in and around harbors and inlets Herring will also move along the beaches. One sure giveaway that they are in the neighborhood is the presence of gannets, a very large, gull-like bird that enjoys din- ing on the herring as much as the striped bass do. To watch these goose-sized birds splash-diving headfirst into the water after herring is a sight to behold. A yearly event of bass chasing herring occurs off of Montauk, and over the course of the late season moves down the entire length of the south shore, providing some of the most exciting fishing of the year At this time of year herring and hass are. engaged in this annual nitual at locations on both shores, and savvy boat andshore fisher men are. cashing in on the opportunities There are a number of ways to catch these late season bass. One of the most productive ways is to first catch the her- ring and use it as bait This can be done by using either small spoons or jigs. down sized versions of what one might use to catch hickory shad, or by using a Sabik: rig, a device with a number of small. cal- orful attractor adored haoks The herring are then used as bait by allowing them to swim freely in areas where the striped bass congregate to feed This technique is referred to as live lining. But far and away the most sporting method of fishing for these bass is with the use of artificial lures and fties There are a number of artificial lures that are quite productive for this fish- ing. If the bass are chasing the herring on or near the surface top water plugs like pencil poppers ar bottleneck plugs can be effective. Soft plastic baits that resemble small shad or herring are also exceptional- ly effective on late season bass, as are bucktails that have been \sweetened\ with either a strip of pork rind or a plastic twister tail. Fly fishermen just love this time of year When top water feeding blitzes are encountered, they can often cover acres. and the bass will readily hit flies The stripers are mast receptive to larger fly patterns at this time of year Big white flies fished on intermediate or sinking lines in and among the feeding bass will often times bring forceful strikes The unfortunate reality about this fish ing is that it often goes unnoticed. since moxt fishermen are not now on the water There is still time to give this fishing a try The Long Island striped bass season offi cially closes on December 15. which means that all fish caught after that date must be released
