Long Island's Hidden Past: South Shore fishing stations

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EAST MORICHES -

There was a time when a great day on the water meant sitting in a small wooded boat, fishing for flounder. News 12's Danielle Campbell and Brian Endres take us back in time to one of the last remaining South Shore fishing stations in Long Island's Hidden Past series.

It may not look like much, but the fishing station perched on the edge of Moriches Bay, in East Moriches, has been a fisherman's heaven on earth since the early 1900s.

LISTEN: Danielle talks to Silly Lily owner Jay Scott in a companion podcast for News 12 Talks Long Island:

"Fishing stations were these magical places where people would rent these boats and either row them out or be towed out and go fishing for the day," says Jay Scott, owner of Silly Lily, a place where common people could slip away for the day and go fishing.

People from New York City, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Long Island would go fishing at the spot because the fishing was bountiful, many catching 50 flounders in an afternoon.

At one time there were several fishing stations dotting the South Shore from Mastic to Shinnecock.
The Silly Lily is the last of its kind. Scott says it's important to preserve the fishing station's history and keep it authentic. Memorabilia hangs from the station's wood planked ceilings and walls.

The Silly Lily is famous for the line used for decades - "Stop Wishing and go Fishing."

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