It’s started. Sometime last week, apparently. Flounder fishing picked up significantly in Jamaica Bay, the bait is here, some nice bass are being taken in the Hudson and those making reconnaissance trips in anticipation of tomorrow’s state-wide open have already located the bass. Knock on wood, it looks like we’re quickly gearing-up for another banner year. I can’t wait.
John from Hudson Park B&T always has an ear to the water, so to speak, and let me know during our call today that, “there’s a lot of striper action in the back bays night now,” and that the fish are hitting “anything that swims…Storm Shads, [Rapala] X-Raps, bucktails.” This was great to hear firsthand from someone in-the-know like John, especially when the opener is now just hours away as I’m writing this. The flounder fishing is also improving for those hitting the back bays of the western sound. John has seen some nice flatfish come into the shop this week, including one jumbo that tipped the scales at 3 pounds – nice fish. John thinks these encouraging signs of life will quickly escalate into a nice early spring bite, in just a matter of days.
Things out east are considerable slower, with two notable exceptions. Cod fishing southeast of Block Island continues to be really productive when the weather allows the fleet to make the trip. The weather looks questionable for the weekend, with Friday seeming like the best chance to get off the dock. The other reliable option out east would be the sweetwater ponds scattered throughout the east end. Stocked trout continue swiping at small metals and inline spinners, and the largemouth bass are beginning to shake-off their wintertime dormancy. I had also heard about some decent holdover striper action in the Sag Harbor area when I was out east recently. Flounder should also become active in the coming two weeks as water temperatures slowly reach into the high 40s.
To the west, the bass season in the Hudson is beginning to get really good as more and more fish pour into the basin and begin feeding more aggressively. Increasing water temperatures in the river have put more than bloodworms on the menu for many bass in the river. Cut-bait, swimming plugs and bucktails will all be producing nice fish in the coming week. Consider fishing the river at night with chicken-scratch Bombers or a black Yo-Zuri Mag Darter, both of these are good options for early season, nighttime bass fishing – retrieve as slow as you can.
Upstate, the sweetwater bite slowly continues to recover after an especially long and bitter winter, and the lakes and ponds are slowly becoming active. A pail of small shiners and a hook-and-float rig is a good option to locate these pre-spawn fish as they concentrate along near-shore drop-offs adjacent to the spawning areas. Fishing on Lake Ontario also continues to improve and some really nice-size steelhead and brown trout are being taken. The perch fishing has also improved significantly in the past two weeks.
Best Bet for the Weekend
There are several plausible options on the table for the coming weekend. An opening-day keeper bass sounds pretty tempting, and is a real possibly in some of the western sound back bays. Try slowly working a small soft-plastic like a 4-inch pearl Storm Shad or 7-inch RonZ into the main channels of the north shore’s estuaries on an outgoing tide. The water will be slightly warmer as it recedes from the estuary, providing extra incentive for the still-sluggish bass to feed.
Consider heading up to the Hudson River for stripers, the bite continues improving and the notoriously expensive bloodworm is no longer the only viable option for producing some action. Consider working a small white bucktail along the bottom on an outgoing tide, any bass in the area will likely give it a bump and working a lure is always more exciting than drowning worms in my opinion. Herring are once again being reported at the piers in and around the city, and with keeper-size bass already being reported in the area, it’s a matter of days until nice fish are working under these herring. Consider heading down to the pier this weekend with two poles, one set up with a Sabiki rig and the other setup for live-lining.
The final option I’ll mention is flounder fishing. After a relatively slow start, the blackback bite has turned on in some places to the west like Jamaica Bay. Heavy chum with a combo of mussels and sand worms for bait remains the go-to tactic, as does shallow water: anywhere between 5 to 15 feet has been productive. Another season is truly getting underway, and hopefully it will be as good if not better than the last! Tight lines everyone.