Though fishing has barely started to slow down to the west, it’s gotten even better in parts of the east with the ongoing new moon tides. Striped bass are being caught in good size and number just about anywhere you want to look for them, but the trend is to the east as the water temperatures move into the 70s. The North Fork has been red hot recently, producing numerous fish in the 50-pound class, and countless fish in the 30s and 40s. I had to drag myself away from busting fish just to make my deadline. Fluke fishing has also made a turn for the better, in a few places like Shinnecock, and the bottom fishing on the wrecks along the South Shore continues to impress – here’s the break down.
East End
Starting in Montauk, the Viking fleet continues to ply their wears out on the Canyons. The tilefishing has been excellent, with fish on the last trip tipping the scales at an impressive 50 pounds. The trip also included plenty of tiles in the 30-pound class, as well as a number of other edible species. All in all, 15 species made it to the fillet table during the three-day trip: golden tile, blue line tile, barrelfish, wreckfish, cod, pollock, elusive cusk, silver hake, yellowfin tuna, striped bass, fluke, black sea bass, porgy, rosie, and silver eels – not a bad haul. The inshore fishing has also been productive for the Viking. Keeper fluke are being culled from the shorts, and some nice porgies are black sea bass are turning up as by-catch. The night bass trips are faring pretty good as well, as fish to 38 pounds have fallen to live eels in the past week.
I talked to the guys at East End Bait & Tackle morning to get the latest on the bite around the Shinnecock area. According to Scott, “good things are happening.” The Inlet is still producing bass on clams from the jetty and drifting by boat. The bite isn’t quite as red hot as it’s been over the past few weeks, but there’s still plenty of quality bass around for those willing to put in the time. Also, if you need a little something extra to get you out there, the triggerfish have showed up in the inlet and are more than willing to take a piece of cut clam on a high-low rig. There are “giant porgies on the reef,” according to Scott, even though the sea bass has slowed a bit from the savage bite last week. There are some nice keeper fluke around, and the bulk of them are in the bay, and live bait has been the ticket to finding yourself a doormat, if you can get it. The Peconic is loaded with porgies, and there are “bluefish everywhere,” reports Scott. Also, the inshore-offshore bite is heating up out from of Shinny, Scott heard of a 130 mako and a bunch of threshers, including one that tipped the scales at 364 pounds. There’s also good numbers of slot-bluefin inshore. The magic number with the tuna has been 135 feet and about 8 miles out front.
South Shore
To the west it is “Very slow, really, really slow,” according to Jonathan from the Fisherman Depot. It seems that the water temperatures reaching into the low 70s has started to take its toll in the New York Bight. Most of the hot bass action is pushing off the west finally, so consider this if you’ll be making a trip this weekend, especially from the surf. If you’re at the launch early enough, finding some decent bass action shouldn’t be too hard even as far west as Jamaica Bay. There’s still some bunker in the area, but the early-morning window for finding them on top is getting shorter by the day. Consider diamond jigging if your marking fish down deep, and it might not be a bad idea to breakout the tube-and-worm setups to draw a few strikes from the newly docile resident bass. The fluke bite remains good according to Jonathan, as long as you don’t mind catching a lot of short fish. Realistically, you’re looking at a throwback ratio of 25- or 30-to-1.
North Shore
Bass are still moving through the Sound, though it’s starting to get a little tougher to track them down and convince them to bite. If you have the advantage of being on a boat, get out as early as you can, and there’s a good chance you’ll find some birds working on sand eels pushed to the surface by a mix of blues and bass. Just remember to “match the hatch” and either drop down a small diamond jig or cast something like a Deadly Dick toward the working fish. If they’re aggressive enough, a small pencil popper might also entice some nice strikes. Chunking at night is still producing some really nice bass in the sound, with the action getting better-and-better the further east you move.
Best Bets
It’s a little bit of a tough call this week, but if you can, get out east. The North Fork has been on fire recently, and places like the Race and the Gut are giving up some cows into the 50-pound class and beyond. If you’ll be fluking this weekend, definitely consider fishing inside of Shinny, there’s been a number of nice doormats pushing double digits taken in skinny water this week. If you’ll be fishing from shore this weekend, it’s time to start thinking about the cover of darkness my friend. Tossing darters or live eels through some moving water will be your best bet at landing a linesider this weekend – tight lines.