Even though the average temperatures around the state retreated back to seasonal-norms this week, most fisheries are still ahead of schedule. Fortunately, this coming Sunday marks an important date on the calendar for many New York anglers, because it’s the 2012 opener for trout and flounder. What’s even better is that things are look promising for a fast start to the season on both fronts. The insect hatches upstate are still happening ahead of schedule and become more frequent, and there’s no doubt in my mind that the winter flounder have already begun their seasonal migration to shallow inshore waters around Long Island. There’s also a few market-size cod and pollack still hanging around Block Island and on some of the mid-range wrecks south of Shinnecock and Moriches Inlet worth checking out. It’s worth getting out one more time if you can, before the majority of the big, keeper-size cod move to deeper water for the summer. For me, March has absolutely flown by in the hours spent preparing for the upcoming season — and it’s almost hard for me to believe that Sunday is April 1.
East End
Cod fishing has continued to cool off south of Block Island as water temperatures rise, although there’s still some nice-sized fish being caught on the east-end headboats still fishing on the grounds. There’s also been an increasing amount of sea bass and porgies in the area, but unfortunately both still out of season for now. It’s definitely a good sign of things to come, but a bit of headache for the anglers looking to ice some codfish and having to toss back 4- and 5-pound black sea bass. However, I definitely wouldn’t say that heading out east for a 2012 springtime cod trip is a waste of time, especially because we’re still in this extended transition period in the New York angling season. If you stay on your A-game, and stay at the rail from whistle-to-whistle, you should be able to put a few keeper cod and ling in the box by the end of the day. The Viking Fleet is still finding some quality cod in the area despite the overall tough conditions. Captain Carl reported he “went offshore to the wrecks” on his most recent trip and found a “handful of cod” that were setup on the structure as well as “a good amount of ling.” The other positive sign from the trip was that the pool fish weighed-in at 17 pounds, significantly larger than the previous few trips. There’s also a chance this cooler weather and the decreasing amount of anglers and boats fishing on the grounds will improve the spring bite for the diehard anglers and crews still steaming over to Block.
Fortunately for the Viking, they’re one of the most innovative and experienced charter-fleets in the industry, and when one season is winding down there’s always another world-class fishery ready to fill the void. Right now that means tilefish. For me, easily one of the best-tasting and unique deepwater groundfish in the North Atlantic. If you’ve never seen or heard of a tilefish before, I definitely recommend clicking-through the Viking website and checking out the pictures from the first two tile trips of the season. The most recent trip, a “36 Hour Tile Express,” got back to the dock on Sunday with another respectable catch of quality tiles despite tough fishing-conditions to start the trip. Captain Steven Sr. commented, “the tide was running with the wind, which made the drift difficult to hold bottom, but tilefish were coming up.” As conditions improved in the late-afternoon and evening, so did the fishing. “When the wind started to drop out a little” Captain Steven said, “the tiles came up more steady.” Turning into a consistent bite of 8 to 12 tilefish per drift that continued until dark, allowing the anglers on board to put together a very respectable “express” tile trip by day’s end, finishing with over 100 tilefish on ice, as well as a quality by-catch of cod, pollack, cusk and hake. The Viking’s offshore trips are always unique, productive and exciting — and this 36-hour tile trip was no exception. Captain Steven Sr. commented in his report that “we also had over 20 sperm whales within a 3 mile radius, which is something you do not see very often,” another cool reminder of the volume and diversity of sea life that collect in the Canyons to feed or take shelter.
South Shore
There’s already a lot going on down on Long Island’s south coast. The mackerel fishing has been savage for the past few weeks, with many anglers catching a full season’s worth of hookbaits in a just a few short hours. The icing on the cake has been that a lot of these macks are the “horse” variety, and are stacked up just outside the western south shore inlets. The good average size, with most schools of fish averaging over a foot long, makes them the perfect hookbait for sharking this season. It’s also a good excuse to get out on the water for the day and catch a lot of fish, something I’ve always enjoyed whether it’s mackerel or porgies. I’d almost consider this a “must do” if you’re an avid angler with a commercial-grade vacuum sealer at home and ample freezer space. You’ll end up saving yourself a few bucks, especially if you do a lot of bait fishing through the season, and you’ll know you always have 24-hour access to top-shelf bait. If you’re not prepared to dedicate an off day to packaging and catching bait, there’s still a few cod, ling and pollock hanging around the south-shore wrecks, and there’s still a handful of headboats targeting them if your rig is still in the barn. Consider making the drive out to the eastern south shore if you’re looking for groundfish, think Hampton Bays area. The winter flounder season opens this Sunday, and there’s definitely going to be some keeper blackbacks already setup in the south-shore estuaries and backwater holes. Satellite images from Rutgers University suggest sea-surface temperatures have already warmed-up significantly in the south-shore bays, and most areas should be warm enough for the flounders to be feeding actively on opening day. If you’re planning on heading out to your favorite out-of-the-way flounder hole this Sunday, or joining the annual spectacle at the Shinnecock Canal, if you make sure you bring plenty of chum you shouldn’t have much of a problem catching a pair of winter flounder over 12 inches for the frying pan. Anecdotally, I’m still cautiously optimistic that the Long Island flounder fishery is slowly rebuilding, because I’ve heard more stories with lines like “I hadn’t caught a flounder in that spot since I was a kid” in the past two season than I had in the entire decade before that. Hopefully this trend continues this season, proving we can manage and rebuild a highly-pressured fish stock without implementing a full-on moratorium.
North Shore
Up on the Long Island Sound, the usual first signs of life are beginning to stir in the north shore harbors. Killies are getting active in the marches and it won’t be long, and I’m sure it’s already happening in some places, before the schoolie bass arrive to feed on the early-spring forage. This early spring run on the north shore is one of my favorite opportunities to take out the 8-weight fly rod and scout for signs of life in the days leading up to opening day of bass season. This time of year, I basically only fish with two patterns: A Clouser minnow in chartreuse and olive and a grass shrimp pattern. It’s also a good idea to smash-down the barbs to minimize damage to the fish.
Metro New York
The ling bite has started to slow down finally, but it really won’t be long until the headboats in the city are fishing day and night for bluefish and striped bass. Both fish are already in the general vicinity feeding on the large schools of horse-mackerel stacked up along the western south shore of Long Island. For the time being, try making your way to the north side of the George Washington Bridge, where the bass season is already open at one fish per day over 18 inches.
Upstate New York
There’s been some wild temperature swings upstate this week, but things have no more-or-less returned to a seasonal consistency. Sunday is a big day for many anglers and guides upstate, as it’s the first day of the 2012 state-wide trout season. Although the cooler temperatures this week probably won’t produce as many hatches as we saw last week when temperatures were hitting the mid-80s in some counties, but there’s likely to be hatches taking places in the afternoons when temps get above 50. This is also my favorite time of year to fish with streamers when the water is running high and fast. The striped bass are slowly making their way up the Hudson, and even if the fish haven’t reached your area yet — it’s definitely time to re-spool your reel and make sure your terminal tackle good and ready to go.
Best Bets
Several more of the state’s fisheries open for the season this Sunday, including trout and winter flounder. The good news is both of these species should be waiting for anglers in decent numbers by Sunday morning. If you’re looking to “scratch the itch” before this Sunday, some springtime catch-and-release freshwater bass fishing would be my recommendation. Bass fishing upstate and on Long Island is starting to heat up. Just remember to leave the shiner pail at home for now, the freshwater bass fishery is “artificial lures only” as well as strictly “catch-and-release” until the third Saturday in June. Also make sure you’ve purchased your 2012 fishing license before heading out to the sweetwater. Tight lines.