Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and I want to start off this week by extending my deepest thanks and gratitude to those who’ve served our country and helped ensure the freedoms we all enjoy today. The cloud cover over the next few nights is good news for those planning to fish the full moon tides, and should be a big help for the few still walking the beaches after dark hoping for one more drag-peeling linesider. We are getting late in the game, however, and close to the point in the season where you’re better off scratching-out a small keeper during the day. Luckily, as the bass begin to disappear south, the phenomenal blackfishing bite has risen to take its place. The explosion of blackfishing with jigs on light-tackle spinning gear has awakened many anglers to a whole new exciting style of fishing. The other bit of good news is that the cod are already waiting on-deck, and ready to keep New York anglers busy right through spring. Also, the National Data Buoy Center reported today that they completed the service and repair of Long Island 44025 and are working on Montauk 44017. All three New York Bight buoys, including Hudson Canyon 44066/TT4 which went back online this morning, should be operational by tonight.
East End
Water temperatures have leveled-off pretty consistently throughout the state, and even the waters around Montauk are still holding in the low 50s. Although there’s no doubt the exodus has begun, there’s still some bass hanging in the rips around the Elbow. The Viking Fleet has been finding them with diamond jigs during the half-day jigging trips. Although the bass haven’t been huge, there’s been a good amount of small keepers in the mix. Over at Block Island, Captain Dave continues to see keeper-cod mixing in with the jumbo porgies and black sea bass. There’s also been some bluefish still hanging around southeast of Block to keep things interesting. The Viking has also been finding some nice “Block Island Bruiser” blackfish on the pieces near the Island, as well as an increasing amount of cod and some big “Knothead” sea bass in the deeper water.
In Hampton Bays, it’s been the fall run that wasn’t. Steve from East End Bait & Tackle reports that the bass fishing from the beach continues to be pretty much non-existent in the area, and it’s looking less-and-less likely there will be a late-season rally. All that being said, the water is still warm enough for some bass to move through the area, and there have been scattered reports of a few small ones being caught. Blackfish reports have also been hard to come by, as the conditions outside the inlet have remained “nautical.” Unfortunately, it’s not going to get any better until at least early next week. If you’re determined to take the boat out for a spin, consider heading to the Ponquogue Bridge with some eels. There may be one or two keeper bass by the pylons drawn in by the full-moon tide.
South Shore
The wind over the next 48 hours will make things difficult, if not impossible for boaters, and the entire forecast doesn’t look great. Drifting with eels or clam chumming in the inlets may be as good as it get for the boat guys this week. The best option this week for south-shore anglers is getting reacquainted with your local ocean beach. Although the daytime blitzes along the south shore haven’t materialized like they did last year, there’s still plenty of bait and a few fish running along the beach. This time of year, I like to rationalize the miles I walk on the open beach between fish as the “cardiovascular” exercise I should be getting anyway, but there’s no doubt it’s been a tough fall for surfcasters. For me, the hardest part is remaining vigilant during the hundreds of casts in-between bumps and not missing the bite. There’s a variety of lure options to choose from, but for me little can beat the action and casting distance of an A-27 with a green tube.
North Shore
Togging remains the hot ticket for vast majority of anglers fishing on the Long Island Sound. Although the bite isn’t quite as savage as it was last week, Richard from Camp-Site reports that “there’s definitely still some fish out here.” I also asked Rich if he’d talked to anyone who’d found some late-season bass still hanging around. “Actually, there is one angler in particular that comes to mind,” he told me. Apparently, one of the Camp-Site regulars has been finding some schoolie-sized bass with consistency during the pre-dawn hours in Cold Spring Harbor area. Although Richard conceded that bite’s been very specific and required an almost “sick” level of dedication to capitalize on. However, having felt that “sickness” Richard was referring to, I decided to was worth mentioning. The other thing we spoke about worth mentioning was the decision by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to reduce the harvest of Atlantic menhaden for the first time in history. Fishermen have long understood the importance of forage fish like the menhaden, and this decision is an important step to ensure the future health of the entire fishery.
Metro New York
Though there’s still some bass and blues still pushing though the area, most anglers fishing around the City have been completely focused on tog fishing. The word from Jonathan at the Fisherman’s Depot in Queens says it all, “Blackfish, blackfish, blackfish and more blackfish.” The tog reigns supreme right now in the waters around New York City. Jonathan also mentioned that “some are very nice sized,” and more fish in the double-digits were caught this week. The bite has continued where is left off last week, the one change is that some of the fish have moved off into deeper water. “It’s about 50/50 right now,” says Jonathan. So, if you’re heading out this weekend it’s a good idea to pack both conventional blackfish rigs as well as some blackfish bucktails in the ½-ounce to 1½-ounce range. Jonathan also mentioned that a few of his customers have been able to find a few stripers around the area, but he stressed that they were “very, very small,” and the prospect of scratching-out a keeper didn’t seem great. However, if you suffer from a hopeless striper addiction like myself, your best bet for reaching that elusive 28-inch mark would be soaking some chunk bait. If you can’t bring yourself to that, a 4-inch pearl swim shad fished slow and on the bottom is always my go-to option when keeper bass are are at a premium.
Upstate
Although the salmon have thinned out in the streams around Lake Ontario, the steelhead are still holding tight and there’s a good amount of brown trout moving in to take their place. Most anglers are still fishing with egg sacs, but “all kinds of flies” are working right now according to the crew up at Narby’s Superette and Tackle. Egg patters and black nymphs have been two of the two most popular patterns reticently. It’s been an unusually warm start to November, so it’s definitely something worth checking out before winter finally catches up with us.
Best Bets
If you’re planning on getting out for some tog fishing this weekend, heading up to the western sound is definitely your best bet getting off the dock. West winds gusting to gale force will make it tough for just about everyone else this weekend. The good thing, however, is that you won’t be giving up much in terms of fishing. The bite has been just as good, if not better, in the western sound than anywhere else in the State recently. If you’re like me and still chasing linesiders with an addict-like fervor, there’s no obvious choice this weekend. There’s been a few fish out in Montauk, a few in the Sound and a few scattered along the south shore. Your best bet is staying local and maximizing your time on the water. A third option would be heading out on the Viking for some Block Island mixed-bag fishing. The weather isn’t going to be great, but the 140-foot Viking Starship will likely sail.