Lake Montauk

In 1927, real estate developer Carl Fisher blasted a gap on the northern shoreline to connect the lake to Block Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

After Fisher opened and dredged the lake, the lake replaced Fort Pond Bay as Montauk's main port (Fort Pond Bay is notoriously shallow and rocky with one of its more famous groundings being HMS Culloden during the American Revolution).

The United States Navy assumed control of the lake during World War II along with other Fisher businesses including Montauk Manor.

[4] 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 for a new outlet.

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.