There's nothing like the sound of a reel's clicker screeching off a one-second burst to shush a conversation between the trio of fishermen who are waxing eloquent about some quickly forgotten male-bonding topic. Then there's the deliciously pregnant pause during the silence that follows, when you're not sure if it was just the boat swinging at anchor or a fish nibbling at your bait ... SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!! Fish it is, and the line rips off the reel at an alarming rate as Tom Gonter of Boating World grabs the correct end of the rod and hangs on as the fish takes him downtown ... literally, because off in the distance is a familiar skyline. This is quality fishing in a place where  you never would have expected it; it's the surreal world of urban fishing in New York City.



You can hardly visit the Big Apple without having one burning question for the locals simmering in the forefront of your mind: How do y'all do it? You know, the anarchistic traffic, the cacophoNY, the frantic scurrying and  the endless squabbling ... "Hey! What's a guy gotta do to get a coffee regular around here?" To us outsiders, it seems incomprehensible that not only do people live here ... they thrive. When you finally ask a denizen of the "City That Never Sleeps" the above question, they look puzzled, maybe even a little hurt, and retort, "Whaddayatalkinabout?" Actually that's a bit of a cliché, since many native New Yorkers, like your fishing host, Richard Lewis, don't have much of an accent at all. And instead of just telling you how he deals with the big-city pressure of running his Midtown Manhattan communications agency, he shows you by picking you up at the LaGuardia Airport and whisking you away on a short 15-minute drive to his little slice of heaven on water, away from the helter-skelterness of the city.

There, in the shadow of Shea Stadium bobbing in a slip at the World's Fair Marina (built for the 1964 soirée), is a well-used, 1968 32-foot Luhrs that you might say has seen better days, but after spending an awesome day on board, few were looking better. Cranking up the pair of purring Crusader 360s, Lewis slips the lines and effectively shoves off from civilization ("Hey, I've got your civilization right here!"). Well, at least until the shadow of an American Airlines ERJ cloaks you as it shrieks overhead en route to a touchdown on runway 31 at the airport, named for Fiorello "The Little Flower" LaGuardia, the feisty 5-foot-2-inch ex-mayor of New York City who battled Tammany Hall corruption back in the 1930s and 1940s.

For people who can count their number of visits to New York City on one cartoon character hand, your knowledge of the landmarks comes mainly from channel surfing on TV. For instance, the boat is docked in Queens, which was the home of Archie Bunker in All in the Family and the place where Eddie Murphy, playing an African prince, looked for a bride in the comedy Coming to America. But specifically, it's the Flushing section (capital F, mind you) of Northern Queens — near where the U.S. Open tennis tournament is held and within proximity of Shea Stadium where the Mets play, and LaGuardia Airport — that helps to triangulate your exact location. That would mean you're in the East River, where Seinfeld's Kramer started swimming to help his ailing back and acquired a funky odor that was transmitted to Elaine's new mattress, causing her to lose a prospective suitor ... got it?

Although the East River has a TV reputation for being polluted and the place where you're likely to see Mafia hits floating by on a regular basis, in actuality, the waters here and around New York City are pretty clean by   big-city standards. Ever since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, water quality on the East River has improved - particularly in the last 10 years when upgrades to the sewer system were made. The water is far cleaner now than it was 100 years ago when John Rockefeller built his first oil refinery on a tributary and turned it into a "utility river," a euphemism for "open sewer." In fact, New York City has some of the best-tasting tap water in the country, recently placing third in a taste test of the fancy bottled brands conducted by the TV news show 20/20, trouncing Evian, which placed dead last. Having said that, when heavy rains occur here, many beaches are closed to swimming due to a spike in pollution and bacteria from storm water runoff, but according to experts, eating fish like striper and bluefish from the adjacent waters is safe, although according to a recent New York City Department of Health Advisory, you should only eat them once a month.

Motoring up the river on a beautiful spring afternoon with the temperature in the low 70s, the Bronx is on your left, and Queens is still on your right. It's pretty urban/industrial to the eye, but as you head underneath the Throgs Neck Bridge, the waterway opens up, and as you enter Long Island Sound, a miraculous transformation occurs: The landscape becomes beautiful.  On the far side of the sound, you see heavily wooded parkland occasionally dotted with upscale houses.  A later search of real estate property along this stretch of shoreline called Kings Point reveals that the "cheapest" house available — a "fixer-upper" according to the ad — can be yours for a mere $5.5 million. It's also home to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy founded during World War II.

Lewis sets the anchor in the 35-foot-deep water and starts chumming with frozen ground-up bunker (a.k.a. menhaden or pogy) and baits up a rig he calls a "fishfinder," which employs a 6-ounce weight at the end to secure against the strong tide, and a hook on a separate length of line farther up to suspend the bait off the bottom. He baits it with one-third of a fresh 6-inch-long bunker that he got earlier that day from The Fishbox on 134th Street in Flushing. "Fresh bait is one of the keys to successful fishing here," says Lewis. "That's one of the things I learned from Capt. Tony DiLernia, who runs Rocket Charters."  

Although Lewis has been plying the local waters since he was a boy fishing with his grandfather in Great South Bay off Long Island and has owned the Luhrs sportfisherman since 1982, he wasn't happy with his piscatorial prowess, so he sought help from the local guru of N.Y.C. fishing about 10 years ago. "I wanted to learn how to fish better, so I called Capt. Tony and said, 'Teach me how to fish,'" Lewis says. "I chartered him on a regular basis, and he was generous with his information and even showed me a few of his 'secret' spots, although he warned me that if I told anyone else, he would have to kill me."

Although there are a number of party boats working the waters here that take out 50 or more anglers at a time, DiLernia runs the only private charter based in the city and uses his 30 years of experience to consistently put his clients on fish. He's just your typical charter   boat captain who also happens to be a marine biologist and professor of maritime technology at a local university. Under DiLernia's tutelage, Lewis' fishing skills has grown exponentially. "Last year I went fishing 30 times and only got skunked twice," says Lewis.

Although Gonter swings and misses on what appears to be a large fish on that first bite, he redeems himself by hooking and bringing to the boat a nice 12-pound striped bass a few minutes later, which Lewis deftly nets and pops into the fish box. Unbeknownst to the fish, it has a reservation at Barbetta, one of New York City's top restaurants and one of Lewis' favorite eateries, where they'll artfully grill your own catch. This might be the easiest way to experience striped bass in a N.Y.C. restaurant since commercial fishermen are held to a limited quota of fish per year. While this makes them a scarce commodity at the restaurant table, it helps keep the local fish population robust.

Although Lewis is often tempted to drop everything at the office and head for the water on beautiful days — especially if DiLernia calls and tells him the fish are biting — he takes a disciplined approach to fishing. "When I get my Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book in the fall (which has been continuously in print since 1875), I go through and note the days when the tide and the moon phase are going to be optimal, and if I can get fresh bait, these are the days I will go fishing in the next year," says Lewis. "I like an incoming tide in the spring for the area we're fishing in now, and I try to schedule my trips a few days before or after the full and new moons so the tide isn't running too strong. For fall fishing, the action tends to be best in the East River on the outgoing tide, drifting live eels in places like U Thant Island near the U.N. building."

Lewis' spiel is interrupted by another hit, which turns out to be a scrappy 5-pound bluefish, a personal best for this Florida-based author, who lives where the average bluefish is about a pounder. Although Lewis doesn't particularly care for the strong taste, fresh bluefish is considered solid table fare by many anglers — especially when you aren't catching striper, which are highly prized for their delicate taste and firm, flaky texture.

Here in the Western end of Long Island Sound, history literally surrounds you. Just behind the anglers is Fort Totten, a pre-Civil War military installation designed by Robert E. Lee to guard "the back door" of New York City's harbor. Across the sound, opposite of Kings Point,  is a unique enclave called City Island, a 230-acre island that's technically part of the Bronx. It's connected only by a bridge, but in actuality looks like a quaint fishing village that should be near Nantucket instead of being a terrifying half-an-hour taxi ride away from Times Square. Although the local economy has shifted from seafaring industries like sail making and commercial fishing, its salty heritage remains intact with its collection of Victorian and Cape Cod captain's houses, a pilot station, sailing school, and row of seafood restaurants. For visitors coming to New York City to fish, this would be an excellent home base.

Rookies as well as experts looking to jumpstart their action should fish with a local like Capt. DiLernia for at least a day to learn the local techniques. Then you can rent a fishing skiff, complete with rods and reels, from Jack's Bait & Tackle for only $59.99 a day on weekends and $49 on weekdays, which even includes a tank of gas. "City Island is a great escape for me and a wonderful place to visit," Lewis says. "I often get my bait from Jack's, and he's willing to help fishermen with information about techniques and where they're biting. Here you can go fishing during the day and watch a Broadway play at night. There are great accommodations at the eight-room Le Refuge Inn, which is only $135 a night, and the authentic French food there is outstanding."

Lewis graciously lets his guests catch  all the fish, and when the bite slows down around sunset, they head back toward the World's Fair Marina. "I'm a lucky guy," says Lewis. "Here I am, just a kid from Oyster Bay, Long Island, and I have this big boat that I can take out fishing anytime I want to, which is not something many people in the city can do. When I look on the calendar and see that one of my fishing days is coming up, I'm raring to go." When asked if fishing helps to relieve some of the big-city pressure that tends to build up, Lewis laughs, and in typical New York City hyperbole answers, "It keeps me from killing people."


WHEN YOU GO

If you've never stayed in New York City, booking a hotel can be a daunting prospect and can give you a serious case of sticker shock, but there are deals available for a reasonable price. Check out www.tripadvisor.com, which ranks hotels according to user popularity. Just scroll down until you find one that meets your price range and location requirements. One of Richard Lewis' favorites is the Kimberly Hotel in Midtown Manhattan (212/702-1600), which is ranked 18 out of 326 hotels on the Tripadvisor popularity index.

On City Island, which is a half-hour drive from Radio City Music Hall, there's literally only one place to stay, and it's a good one at a reasonable price: Le Refuge Inn (718/885-2478), an eight-room inn that also has a restaurant serving traditional French cuisine, where they'll also cook your catch for you.

Dining in New York City might be the most fun part of visiting the Big Apple. Richard Lewis highly recommends Barbetta (212/246-9171) in Midtown Manhattan. Owned and operated by the same family for more than 100 years, Barbetta is elegant and romantic, specializing in Italian cuisine in Piemontese style. For French cuisine, Lewis loves Le Perigord (212/755-6244) and recommends the Beef Wellington. Seinfeld junkies shouldn't miss the opportunity to visit the "Soup Nazi" at the Soup Kitchen International at 259A W. 55th St., but don't use the word "Nazi" unless you want to hear the phrase, "No soup for you!"

For the best chance to catch a trophy striper or chopper bluefish, arrange a charter with Capt. Tony DiLernia at Rocket Charters (www.rocketcharters.com), who will pick you up in downtown Manhattan. Fall and springtime offer the best fishing opportunities, although the action continues throughout the summer. For those who want to do-it-yourself and trailer your boat to City Island, there's a boat ramp at Rosenberger's Boat Livery (718/885-1843), which also rents boats, as does Jack's Bait and Tackle (718/885-2042), which has been in business for 60 years and not only offers the freshest bait available but also gives great insider information.