Southampton Bassmaster Launches Long Island’s First Freshwater Fishing Charter

He’s the Frank Mundus of bass fishing – or perhaps Frank Mundus was the Mandel Pettus of shark fishing.

Pettus, a native of Southampton and nationally recognized professional bass fisherman, has launched Mandel Pettus Elite Fishing Clinics, the first freshwater-based fishing charter on Long Island. Pettus just started the business this year.

“Last summer, I was doing security at Kissaki in Water Mill,” Pettus said, while on a charter that Dan’s Papers was granted exclusive access to. “I bumped into Cuba Gooding Jr, and Alec Baldwin. They said, ‘What do you do? You just can’t do security.’ I said, ‘Oh, I’m a professional bass fisherman.’ So Cuba looked on his phone and typed my name, and he’s like, ‘Yo, you really know fishing. This is really you.’ And one of them is like, ‘My kids always want to go fishing, but I don’t know anything about fishing.’ They told me I needed to open some kind of fishing clinic or something out here. I contemplated it all winter, and then decided I was gonna do it.”

While Long Island is typically known for its saltwater fishing in the Sound, Great South Bay, Peconic Bays, and far offshore, Long Island’s lakes, ponds, and rivers are plentiful with fish just waiting to be given the same attention – as long as you have the right gear, talent, and a guide, which is what Pettus offers.

His charters typically offer bass fishing on Agawam Lake in Southampton, where clients will be taken on his Legend V21 boat – officially named Gertrude – and brought to every corner of the lake where the big bass might be hiding.

“I spared no expense when I came to the boat,” Pettus said. “I had to have a boat that compared to my tournament boat, and I wasn’t going to settle for anything. So this boat has a Tracker 190. I have a Minn Kota Ultrex, active target, the best of the best. You’re in Southampton, you gotta have the best of the best. I want my clientele to be comfortable with the amenities on my boat, and also get to simulate the experience of a bass fishing tournament.”

Advice for trips of your own is one of the many services you get on a charter with Mandel Pettus – name a lake, pond, or river on Long Island, and Pettus has a wealth of knowledge on how to fish them all. While a day on Agawam Lake – with a lunch break at Sean’s Place – is the typical offering, Pettus has also taken clients fishing at Kellis Pond in Bridgehampton and Fort Pond in Montauk.

But it’s for good reason that Agawam Lake is the first choice. It’s a lake Pettus has fished since he was able to fish, and for non-Town of Southampton residents, a guide is required to fish there.

He’s already had some notable clients – Denise Smith of the Shinnecock Reservation and Southampton Mayor William Manger Jr. were recent guests on a charter, although it was a tour of the lake rather than a fishing trip.

“Agawam Lake is a centerpiece of our village,” Manger Jr. said. “Someone like Mandel can take people out and make them appreciate that, and understand the importance of restoring the quality of the lake. We have to be stewards of our bodies of water. He’s a wonderful person to go out on the lake with or go fishing with to get young people interested in fishing and the outdoors. I think it’s great that he’s doing that.”

Manger has also suggested Pettus offer guided tours of Agawam Lake, bringing back a lost piece of Southampton history when Captain Pyrrhus Concer once took residents on ferry trips north and south through the lake.

“Mandel’s boat tour was similar to what Captain Concer had done,” Manger Jr. added. “Agawam Lake runs from the beach to the heart of the village and has a lot of natural beauty.”

Born and raised in Southampton, Pettus learned to fish when he was 7 years old. He was taught by his grandmother.

“From that point on, I was locked in, and it was at the age of seven years old, I knew what I wanted to do,” Pettus said. “We fished using a can with a line wrapped around it.”

Now, Pettus is fishing with world-class equipment and gear that would probably make Jeremy Wade jealous. His prowess has earned him sponsorships from brands including Z-Man Fishing Products, Gill Fishing, VMAXTANKS, Suzuki, and Hayabusa Fishing Lines, the last of which makes him the first American bass pro sponsored by a Japanese company.

“Watching bass fishing on TV, I didn’t see a lot of Black anglers,” Pettus said. “So growing up, people would tell me, ‘There’s no way you can make it in that.’ So I just trained even harder to be a Bassmaster. I saw a Black angler for the first time on the Peconic River in Riverhead on the boat – Emory Butts. I must have been like 13 at the time. And I asked him, ‘Is that your boat?’ He goes, ‘Yeah.’ It just amazed me, you know, I mean, because I had never seen that before. At that point, it was just full-blown inspiration. He passed away recently, like two years ago. He was a big inspiration.”

Pettus’s accomplishments speak for themselves. Out of 18 Bassmaster tournaments, he’s had nine top 30 finishes, seven top 20 finishes, four top 10 finishes, a second place award and one first place finish.

The first place finish came at the 2018 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Championship at Table Rock Lake in Missouri – and he won it using borrowed equipment.

Years later, with a legacy in bass fishing already secure, Pettus is set to teach, inspire and, overall, give Long Island freshwater anglers an experience they’ve been missing for years.

“I still have some years left,” Pettus said. “Long Island is a beautiful place. I’m just happy to be a part of it, and show people the freshwater aspect of Long Island. And if they feel free, book a trip and I’ll show them pure excellence. Let’s get the kids out of the house. Get them off the video games. Get them on the outdoors, show them something spectacular before it’s gone. Preservation is very huge for me. A lot of the lakes that I used to fish as a kid are gone. They’re ruined. We have to do our best to keep it all.”

To schedule a charter with Mandel Pettus Elite Fishing Clinic, reach out to Mandel Pettus via Instagram at @mandelpettus_fishingclinic or @mpettusfishing_, or call 631-415-8890.