Lake Montauk is a 900-acre (360 ha) artificial

embayment A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

Montauk, New York Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...

that is home to the largest commercial and sporting fish fleets in the state of New York. Lake Montauk by Don Ramey Logan

History

The lake was originally referred to on maps as Lake Wyandanch and commonly referred to as the "Great Lake". It was the largest body of freshwater on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, more than double the size of

Lake Ronkonkoma Lake Ronkonkoma is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 20,155 at the 2010 census. Lake Ronkonkoma is mainly located in the Town of Brookhaven, but has ...

. In 1927, real estate developer

Carl Fisher Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

blasted a gap on the northern shoreline to connect the lake to

Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as Plum Isl ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Fisher intended to develop the new port of Montauk into the "Miami Beach of the North." On Star Island, a small island in the lake, he built the Montauk Yacht Club and Star Island Casino. His other projects included the hotel

Montauk Manor Montauk Manor is a historic resort hotel located in the hamlet of Montauk in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island. It was built in 1926 by Carl G. Fisher and is a three-story, 140 decorated condominium apartments in the Tudor Revival style. ...

, Montauk Playhouse, the golf course Montauk Downs, and the six-story Montauk tower. Fisher renamed the lake Lake Montauk. After Fisher opened and dredged the lake, the lake replaced

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. History New-York Province and the American Revolution Fort Pond Bay wa ...

as Montauk's main port (Fort Pond Bay is notoriously shallow and rocky with one of its more famous groundings being during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

). Fisher's enterprises became bankrupt after the

Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

assumed control of the lake during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

along with other Fisher businesses including Montauk Manor. USCG Station Montauk

Development

After World War II, the lake became a well-known commercial and sports fishing area, and became New York's largest fishing port. In the 1970s, a proposal was made to dam the sound and build a canal through the former Montaukett Indian Field and

Big Reed Pond Big Reed Pond is a freshwater pond located in Montauk, New York on Long Island. A site including the pond, brackish marshland and natural sand dunes was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1973. The largely undeveloped pond is located ...

for a new outlet. The plan included a proposal for constructing more than 1,000 houses along the new waterway. Intense local opposition organized by

Hilda Lindley Hilda Lindley, born Hilda Livingston, (5 October 1919 – 12 December 1980) founded the Concerned Citizens of Montauk (CCOM) in 1970. At the time, she lived in a private house in the middle of what is now Theodore Roosevelt County Park in Montauk, N ...

stopped the plan. Suffolk County assumed ownership of the property and it is now

Theodore Roosevelt County Park Montauk County Park, formerly known as 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 Poin ...

(formerly Montauk County Park). Among the businesses on the lake is the only ferry service in East Hampton town. It offers service during summers to

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

and

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

also operates a station on Star Island.

Montauk Airport Montauk Airport is a privately owned, public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of Montauk, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is included in the National Plan of In ...

is on the east side of the lake, on East Lake Drive.

Fishing

Montauk is noted as one of the leading centers for sport fishing on the Atlantic Coast. By 1986, it claimed 39 world-record catches. including a

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

. Montauk hosts several annual shark tournaments. The craze for shark fishing off Montauk was encouraged in the 1970s by local boat operator Frank Mundus who often was reported in stories as the source for the character Quint in the movie ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

''. Mundus caught a

great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is nota ...

by harpoon and a great white shark by rod and reel.

References

{{reflist Bays of New York (state) East Hampton (town), New York Bays of Suffolk County, New York