tjmayjr

11/26/2023 Retired FDNY Lieutenant Jimmy Zodowick aka “The Big Cat” goes over his Sliding Booby Trap Rig. The Big Cat is one of the Mary Alice‘s best anglers, always looking to share his knowledge. Thanks Jim, it was a pleasure fishing with you today

11/26/2023 Finished up a great day Blackfishing aboard the 31’ Eastern Downeaster Mary Alice and heading home from Block Island. Fished my new St. Croix 7’6” MHF rod and Avet reel complete with 40lb test braid and 60lb shock leader. I’ve been using a standoff rig tied with 60lb Floro Carbon Leader complete with a 4/0 Owner hook as my go to rig for years now. I’ve never really been interested in catching the biggest fish, just looking to be consistent. I was fortunate to land at 10 pound plus Blackfish, my largest one to date. After a brief photo shoot to record the moment, I released him back into Davey Jones locker. Wind out of the southeast for our return trip home gave us a following sea which kept Captain Pete busy at the wheel. Hope you enjoy the video

11/26/2023 Epic day Blackfishing aboard the Mary Alice. We fished five miles south of Block Island for some lock and load fishing. Captain Pete Carey did not disappoint, always looking to improve. The “Suggestion Box” is paying off in spades. Just when you think it can’t get any better, Waffles served!!

11/13/2023 Underway 0630 from Southold with FDNY brothers Pete, Jim, and Kevin for a great day fishing aboard the 22.8’ General Marine center console Margaret O’Leary. 30 degrees and light winds out of the northeast when we left. Ran about 18 miles and fished a couple miles west of Mulford Point. A slow pick with the flood tide, and a little better on the ebb. Eventually moved further east, and things improved. The wind flopped out in the late morning early afternoon. Beautiful scenic ride for our trip home

10/12/23 Mate Keith aboard the “Fishy Business” filleting Blackfish and making it look easy!

Tugboat Jacksonville 9/18/2020 Port Jefferson Launch operator Tommy May running Captain Bobby West and his son Wesley back to their 100’ tug Jacksonville out of Baltimore Maryland

10/12/2023 Fished today aboard the “Fishy Business” out of Orient By The Sea Marina. Beautiful day! Captain Phil put us on the fish and Mate Keith did a phenomenal job untangling us, keeping us supplied with bait and cleaning our catch. We caught close to 30 Blackfish and another 15 Seabass between 11 guys. My first time fishing aboard her, and would not hesitate to do so again. If you’re looking the fish one of the best boats in Orient, check out the “Fishy Business”

9/1/2023 Sailboat “Blew Boat” displaying the colors north of Robins Island, North Race

I got to witness Corazzini’s Asphalt crew in action today. After grinding up the section of Pinewood Road and Dicks Point roadway that was in disrepair, they quickly removed, swept and treated the area to be paved. They made short work, and did a beautiful job on both sections of road. When I get my driveway done, I know who I’m calling, Corazzini’s Asphalt Company. Great job!! Corazzini Asphalt Co 6245 Cox Lane Cutchogue,NY 11935 631-734-5600

I got to witness Corazzini’s Asphalt crew in action today. After grinding up the section of Pinewood Road and Dicks Point roadway that was in disrepair, they quickly removed, swept and treated the area to be paved. They made short work, and did a beautiful job on both sections of road. When I get my driveway done, I know who I’m calling, Corazzini’s Asphalt Company. Great job!! Corazzini Asphalt Co 6245 Cox Lane Cutchogue,NY 11935 631-734-5600

9/2/2023 Lee Dash of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Band plays Taps, and the National Anthem at Riverhead Raceway. Taps was followed by Pastor Scott’s beautiful Invocation, which thanked God for our First Responders & Military and asked for his continued grace. Suffolk County Police Aviation finished with a flyover. My nephew Eric was given a Suffolk County Police Department patch by a passing police officer. Eric’s father is a retired NYC Firefighter and 911 Responder

8/20/2023 Captain Paul Bruno of the “Elizabeth II” backing into her slip in Montauk Marine Basin, Montauk NY. If you can run a single screw boat, you can run any boat. Captain Paul makes it look easy! Not only is he a great boat jockey, he’s probably got the hardest slip to pull into in the marina. I’ve fished many times with Paul and never went home empty handed. If you have plans on fishing Montauk, give Paul a call, you won’t be disappointed!

8/20/2023 The “Elizabeth II” pulling into Montauk Harbor on a beautiful August day. Captain Paul Bruno is one of the best captains in Montauk. I’ve fished many times aboard her and never went home empty handed. If you have plans on fishing Montauk, give Paul a call, you won’t be disappointed

5/23/2023 While leaving Mill Creek in Southold NY I spotted the US Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis WLM-551. The 175 foot Keeper Class Coastal Bouy Tender was underway heading westbound in the Shelter Island North Channel just north of Jennings Point. I mistook her to be 130 foot, when in fact she was 45 foot longer. I hailed her on channel 16 and we switched our conversation to channel 22. I headed east to fish off Long Beach Bar Lighthouse when she returned and worked Bouy 7. That was a treat for me. As a young man of nineteen I had the privilege to sail aboard the USCGC Clover WLB-292 and USCGC Woodrush WLB-407 Ocean Going Bouy Tenders stationed in Sitka Alaska 43 years prior. I learned a lot working the decks of the ships, things I still use today. If you have time, Shannon Quinn wrote a great article titled “Ida Lewis and the Keepers of the Light”dated September 30, 2018. An incredible lady, and a American hero

8/14/2023 Pete Carey, Kevin Profitlich, Jimmy McCabe, Bobby Maynes and Tommy May departed Montauk Marine Basin and were underway at 12:30 am for what turned out to be another exceptional day fishing aboard the 31’ Downeaster Mary Alice. Four hours later at 10 kts placed us 40 miles from Montauk. Kevin running the deck had the trolling gear in place with Jim and Bob’s help an hour before sunrise. Trolling proved ineffective so we switched over to jigging. A team effort by all who attended. Pete marked some big fish on the screen and it wasn’t long before a 90lb Bluefin hit hard and almost spooled the reel on me. At first I thought I was snagged on the bottom, but Kevin said “You have a fish on there, how fast do you think we’re drifting!” Having not much line left on the spinning reel, Pete backed down allowing me to refill some of the spool. Great job by Kevin, Jim and Bob coaching me, as I’m a newbie at tuna fishing and surely would’ve lost this fish if it had not been for them. After close to an hour fighting him, I passed the rod off to Bob who fought him for another half hour. Hats off to Captain Pete who made as many turns on the wheel as we made on the reel keeping the large bluefin out of out propeller, shaft and rudder. Great Day!! Tommy May FDNY Retired

7/4/2023 Southold’s July 4th Parade. As the senior men from Southold’s Fire Department finish up the parade, I had to ask if they knew my brother Firefighter Shawn P. May from FDNY Engine Co 4 in Manhattan. Great day at the parade and what a turn out! Everybody looked sharp, especially the members of Southold’s Engine Company 4 and their rig. True dedication!!

7/30/2023 Baldwin Brothers Ken and Rich leaving Montauk for another action packed day of fluke fishing Montauk’s pristine waters

7/23/2023 Anne and I are staying at Snug Harbor located in Montauk NY. To kill some time out here, I brought 180 foot of half-inch double braid line with me to spice. My first splice is for the Mary Alice, the 31 ft Eastern that needs a new spring. Initially I went by Samson Splicing Instructions that came with the fid and pusher that I purchased from West Marine. I cross-referenced my initial splice with Andy Wall’s YouTube video. Using both training aids I got confused and made a mistake, so had to start over with a second splice. I used Andy Wall’s method, as he made it look easy. It’s a 12-year-old video with over 750,000 views. I would definitely recommend checking it out. My last double braid eye spice was years ago while stationed at US Coast Guard Station in Fort Totten Queens NY. Small boat Coxswain Jon Adams had to cut the towing hauser of the CG 41412 while towing a boat that sank in Long Island Sound. The two of us respliced her hauser. 1980 or 1981 I attended Class Boatswains Mate School in Yorktown Virginia for three months. It was there that my Uncle Sam taught us 3 strand and double braid splicing. After 43 years I needed a refresher. Thanks Andy Wall of the West Marines Alameda store

8/6/2015 Robbie Gallo of Gallo Tree Service demonstrating his climbing line and belt set up using the Schwabisch Hitch. If you live in the Southampton area, consider yourself lucky if you’ve had Robbie Gallo prune your trees. He’s one of the best. People would wait for over a year in some cases to have him service their tree needs. Robbie is retired from the FDNY, having worked in Engine 76 and Engine 313 with 23 years of dedicated service. He’s 70 years old, and still climbing. Is he slowing down a little bit? Absolutely, but his attention to detail has never wavered

3/6/2023 Cape Coral Florida Ride With Gunner, SW Florida’s Best Looking Dog

6/26/2023 Eric May practicing with UTM’s Makita cordless circular drill. Eric helped install the dunnage in the bed of the Uncle Tom’s GMC in preparation of our trip back to New York. Thanks for all the help Eric!

6/10/2023 St John of God Cemetery Central Islip NY. ☘️ Sean Murtha of the Suffolf County Police Department Pipe & Drum Band plays “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” for Margaret May and Shelia King, the O’Leary sisters from Tralee ☘️

6/11/2023 UTM spent a couple hours fishing this morning with his nephew Eric May before he headed back to Florida on his afternoon flight. We fished west of Bouy 8 South of East Marian where Eric landed this Jumbo Sea Robin. It was Eric‘s first time fishing, and I must say he is a natural. Next time I’m in Florida, we’ll have to get him out again. Great Job Eric!!

6/11/2023 UTM spent a couple hours fishing this morning with his nephew Eric May before he headed back to Florida on his afternoon flight. We fished west of Bouy 8 South of East Marian where Eric landed this Jumbo Porgy. It was Eric‘s first time fishing, and I must say he is a natural. Next time I’m in Florida, we’ll I have to get him out again. Great Job Eric!!

6/11/2023 UTM spent a couple hours fishing this morning with my nephew Eric May before he headed back to Florida on his afternoon flight. We fished east of Bouy 7 NE of Shelter Island. It was Eric‘s first time fishing, and I must say he is a natural. Next time I’m in Florida, we’ll I have to get him out again. Great Job Eric!!