When you consider how crowded Montauk gets during the fall run in the daytime, you would think that in the wee hours of the morning you would see more guys in the surf line. Funny thing is, the crowd disappears once it gets dark with most guys giving up on midnight tides. Over the years I drove on the weekend nights to Montauk and on many occasions I keep running into the same fellow on just about every trip , usually we were among the very few on the beach in wee hours. He is always willing to stop and exchange pleasantries and share some info too. For me he represented all I heard about the place before I actually started to fish it. The place is known for long, solitary nights while perched a rock in a crashing surf. It has everything to offer to those who embrace it with an open mind and a desire to succeed. That fellow I kept running into was Willie Young.
Willie was a member of the High Hill Striper Club from 1969 to 1979.Over the years as a member of the club he won numerous contests and awards for his prowess in the surf. He served as a club President three times (’73,’74,’77) and was a member of the Board Of Directors for many years. Willie has held numerous positions as a fishing adviser to the County and State Advisory Boards, conservation and other organizations, fighting to keep beaches accessible to those who wish to drive and fish on them. He was a Suffolk County Fishing Advisory Board member in ’96 & ’97 and a Nassau Beach Fishing Advisory board member in ’98 & ’99 and has served as a NY State Parks Fishing Advisory board member from 1982 to this day. As a conservation advocate Willie served as a CCA NY Treasurer from 1994 to ’96 and as board member of United Gamefish Anglers. He is also a LIBBA Board member 
since 1981, the organization in which he has served in the past as a Secretary and Executive VP. But most of you probably know him as a President of the Montauk Surfcasters Association, the position that he has held since 1993 after serving as a VP for 10 years before that. He has tirelessly given his time to ensure that we all share access to East End beaches, coordinated efforts in cleaning them up and still found time to pursue his passion of surfcasting. When a man gives so much of his time for the benefit of others its no wonder he may prefer a midnight tide for himself.
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