Lake Montauk
Encyclopedia
Montauk, New York
Montauk [ˈmɒntɒk] is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name located in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 3,851 as of 2000...
that is home to the largest commercial and sporting fish fleets in the state of New York.
History
The lake (originally referred to on maps as Lake Wyandanch and commonly referred to as the "Great Lake") was a freshwater lake until 1927 when Carl Fisher blasted a hole on the northern shoreline to connect it to Block Island SoundBlock Island Sound
Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of Rhode Island in the United States...
and the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. Before the entrance to Montauk Harbor was created, the Great Lake was the largest body of freshwater on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, more than double the size of Lake Ronkonkoma
Ronkonkoma Lake
Lake Ronkonkoma, Long Island's largest freshwater lake, is in Suffolk County, New York, and has a circumference of about , and is across on average....
.
Fisher's efforts were intended to use the lake as the port of his planned development to turn Montauk into the "Miami Beach of the North." On Star Island in the lake he built the Montauk Yacht Club and Star Island Casino. His other Miami North projects which included the Montauk Manor, Montauk Playhouse, Montauk Downs
Montauk Downs State Park
Montauk Downs State Park is a state park in Montauk, New York, USA. The park is located in Suffolk County near the eastern tip of Long Island's South Fork, about east of the village of Montauk...
golf course, and the six-story Montauk tower. He renamed the lake Lake Montauk.
After Fisher opened and dredged the lake, the lake replaced Fort Pond Bay
Fort Pond Bay
Fort Pond Bay is a bay off Long Island Sound at Montauk, New York that was site of the first port on the end of Long Island. The bay has a long naval and civilian history.-New-York Province and the American Revolution:...
as Montauk's main port (Fort Pond Bay is notoriously shallow and rocky with one of its more famous groundings being the HMS Culloden (1776)
HMS Culloden (1776)
HMS Culloden was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard, England, and launched on 18 May 1776...
in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
).
Fisher's enterprises went broke following the Crash of 1929. The U.S. Navy took over the lake during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(along with other Fisher businesses including the Montauk Manor).
After World War II, the lake boomed with commercial and sports fishing, and became New York's biggest fishing port.
Today
Striped bass
The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...
.
Montauk has several shark tournaments with boat operator Frank Mundus
Frank Mundus
Frank Mundus was a sport fisherman at Montauk, New York who is said to be the inspiration for the character Quint in the movie and book Jaws...
often being reported in stories as the source for the character Quint in Jaws (film)
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
(Jaws author Peter Benchley
Peter Benchley
Peter Bradford Benchley was an American author, best known for his novel Jaws and its subsequent film adaptation, the latter co-written by Benchley and directed by Steven Spielberg...
's denials of this has not altered the myth). Mundus reputation is encouraged by catching a 4,500 pound (2,040 kg) great white shark
Great white shark
The great white shark, scientific name Carcharodon carcharias, also known as the great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a large lamniform shark found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans. It is known for its size, with the largest individuals known to have approached...
by harpoon and a 3,427 pound (1,554 kg) great white by rod and reel.
A proposal in the 1970s called for damming Fisher's access to the Sound and instead building a canal through the former Montaukett Indian Field and Big Reed Pond for a new outlet onto the Sound. The plan called for construction of more than 1,000 houses along the new waterway. Intense local opposition stopped the plan. Suffolk County took over the property and it is now Theodore Roosevelt County Park
Theodore Roosevelt County Park
Theodore Roosevelt County Park is located approximately east of Montauk, New York. The park is in size, running from Montauk Highway north to Block Island Sound and is bordered on the east by Montauk Point State Park...
(formerly Montauk County Park).
Among the businesses on the lake is the only ferry service in East Hampton town. It offers service in the summer to Block Island
Block Island
Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...
, Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
and New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
.
The Coast Guard
USCG Station Montauk
U.S. Coast Guard Station Montauk is located on the eastern most end of of Long Island in Montauk, New York. Station Montauk was officially opened on October 1, 1955 and has remained an active Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement unit. Today the station is one of eight small boat units that are a...
also operates on Star Island. The Montauk Airport
Montauk Airport
Montauk Airport is a public airport located on East Lake Drive between Lake Montauk and Block Island Sound, approximately northeast of Montauk, in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Montauk Airport is the easternmost airport in New York State.-History:...
is on the east side of the lake.