July 7, 2011 - New York Fishing Report

It’s hot outside, and if you’re thinking about a nice swim along one of Long Island’s South Shore beaches, you might want to consider the Sound – 10-foot thresher sharks are being caught among the stripers crashing the bunker schools within a few miles of the beach. The sharks are destroying spinning reels, and they’re making some inshore fishermen nervous and others excited. The bluefin tuna bite is heating up along the South Shore. Fluking has continued improving around Shinnecock, inside-and-out of the inlet, and bluefish remain just about omnipresent. Bass fishing remains strong along the bulk of the South Shore, and some places like west of Moriches and Orient Point are experiencing a great bite. There’s something for everyone in this week’s forecast, here’s the breakdown.

East End

Steve at East End Bait & Tackle was the first person I called this morning, as I’d heard some rumors from his neck of the woods that I needed confirmed. I asked, “So, have you heard about these big threshers being caught right off the beach?”

“Oh yeah,” Steve replied without hesitation. An interesting development for sure. Bass fishing continues to hold out for those fishing bait around the inlet and Ponquogue Bridge. Fluking remains strong inside the inlet and in showing good improvement out in the ocean. There are still plenty of porgies to be caught at Roger’s Rock, and bluefish of all sizes are showing up anywhere there’s something for them to chew on.

In Montauk, the Viking fleet has been picking away at decent numbers of keeper-size fluke with some nice porgies and black sea bass mixing in. The night bass trips have also been good, with a “steady pick” of keeper bass. On the offshore front, the Viking went on a joint scouting trip with the Voyager and the trip paid-off with new GPS numbers for the fleet, rosefish, hake and golden tilefish to 49.9 pounds.

North Shore

Things are a little slow on the North Shore when compared to the chaos happening along parts of the South Shore, but there are plenty of fish to be caught. “The cocktail bluefish have moved in,” says Richard from the Camp-Site Sports Shop in Huntington Station, and there’s still sand eels around. If you’re out around Port Jefferson at first light there’s a good chance you’ll see birds and blues crashing bait on the surface. If you can get near the working fish without making much commotion, and drop down a small diamond jig, there’s a decent chance you’ll find yourself a few small-keeper bass along with the hoard of bluefish. There are also some rouge double-digit bluefish moving around making drag-washer tests on light spinning setups, so be ready. Chunking at night is still producing some nice bass, especially to the east. Surfcasters will still find the occasional bass after dark hunting the rocky outcroppings scattered along the north shore. Try throwing a chicken-scratch Bomber, worked slowly, just fast enough to feel the lure working through the water, with the occasional pause. You’ll be surprised how many strikes come when the lure’s dead in the water.

South Shore

It’s a good-to-great situation for anglers along the south shore right now. Those leaving out of Moriches are having a field day just to the west of the Inlet, with frequent large schools of bunker being harassed by bass, blues and big thresher sharks to over 300 pounds – an interesting mixed bag to say the least. Just a few more miles out, football-size bluefin tuna are hitting green-machines and other small trolling spreads. There’s bottom fish to be caught on Fire Island Reef, cut clams on a high-low rig will do the trick for porgies, triggers, black seas bass, ling and maybe even a red hake.

Best Bets

Well, it’s a great time to do some sharking if you’re interested. Some of these threshers are in tight to the beach. The bass bite has also been great along the western south shore, so it’s a rare 2-for-1 opportunity – inshore sharking-bass combo. If you’re set on fluke fishing this weekend, consider trailering the boat out to Shinnecock because, for the second week in a row, that area’s been producing the best numbers of keeper-size fish. Bass fishing also remains consistent for those who work the Inlet, so it might be worth the ride east. If you’re going to be up on the North Fork, consider making the ride all the way to the end, as 3-way bucktailing in Plum Gut has been connecting with lots of bass in the 30- and 40-pound class, and the occasional cow tipping the scales at over 50 pounds. There’s no shortage of life out there, go find some.