New York Fishing Report 4-19-2012

Striped Bass on Bunker Schools

The 2012 striped bass season is off to a fast start along Long Island’s western south shore — no surprises there — but the action is quickly spreading to the north and east. The bigger bass are still working on the schools of increasingly-desperate menhaden, now under increased pressure from the schools of bass and some early-season bluefish. The winter flounder fishing has also been impressive in western Long Island, and it’s started some rumblings about a possible return of a long-depressed fishery. Although I’ll still hedge my bets on the long-term health of winter flounder populations in the Northeast, I have noticed some positive trends in the past few seasons, and it does seem like we’ve turned some type of corner in the management of this important fishery.

Long Island’s East End Fishing Report

Apparently my prediction that the Block Island cod season was “pretty much over” until next December was a little bit premature. Captain Steven Sr. of the Viking Fleet made a trip over to the grounds last Saturday and reported “plenty of action” in the area, finding respectable numbers of market-size cod to 14 pounds, as well as plenty of ling and cunners to fill-out the day’s catch for all those on board. If you’re a bit of a cod-fanatic like myself, the Viking leaves for a two-day cod trip on Stellwagen Bank this Friday at 7pm. Outside of the Canyons, Stellwagen is one of my favorite fisheries in the Northeast, rivaling other historic locations like Georges Bank and Jeffreys Ledge. Something definitely worth checking out at least once in an angling lifetime, especially if you enjoy the power of huge whale-cod slamming big Norwegian jigs in deep water. The other piece of Viking-related news worth passing on is that the tilefish trip that’s also leaving this Friday at 7pm has been switched to the 140-foot Viking Starship, freeing up a few more bunk spaces for the 32-hour trip to the Canyons. If you’ve never eaten tilefish before, imagine a “captain’s choice” cod loin crossed with a lobster tail. . .

In Hampton Bays, water temperatures moved into the 50s this week, bringing the first schools of quality-size stripers and even a few “cocktail size” bluefish into the area. I talked with Steve from East End Bait & Tackle this afternoon who told me fishing picked up significantly from last week. Anglers have been landing some keeper bass on clams around the Ponquogue Bridge in recent days, as well as a surprising amount of 3- to 4-pound bluefish — especially for this time of the year. For me, this size bluefish makes great table-fare, and it’s even better quality in the springtime. Bluefish eat mainly squid during the spring and winter months, making them less greasy than in the summer and fall when they’re feeding on menhaden. It’s also the best time of year to load up the smoker with racks of fresh bluefish filets. Just remember to bleed them in the water while still alive before quickly packing in ice. The warmer water has also gotten the flounders biting this week in the Shinnecock Canal, giving shore-bound anglers another viable option aside from soaking clams at the Ponquogue.

Long Island’s South Shore Fishing Report

For anglers fishing off the western south shore, it’s been one of the best early-spring fishing seasons in recent memory. The striper bite started off fast and furious on the western south shore and it’s continued to get better through the week. Fishing the bunker schools has been the best bet, and they’re scattered inside and out of the inlets. If you’re planning on snagging a livewell full for the day’s fishing, just make sure your snags are sharp and you’re off-the-dock in the pre-dawn grey. The bunker are under heavy pressure from above and below the water line, so they’re already getting skittish once the sun comes up. Fortunately, the bass have been willing to take chunks, especially at night, and in some cases they’re preferring an easy meal to a “fully operational” menhaden kicking on a liveline. Flounder fishing also remains good, and the party boats are having no problem finding the two-fish limit for their customers.

Long Island’s North Shore Fishing Report

Things are starting to come back to life once again in the Long Island Sound, especially to the west. Satellite images from the last few days show that sea surface temperatures jumped significantly in the western sound over the last week, into the high 50s and even low 60s in some of the bays. For the bulk of the north shore, however, water temperatures are lagging significantly behind, still sitting in the high 40s east of Fort Salonga. The water’s significantly warmer along the Connecticut coast much further to the east, and one of the most significant temperature breaks I can remember seeing has formed in the Long Island Sound. Definitely might be worth checking out if you’ve got your boat in the water.

Metro New York Fishing Report

More fish are pushing up the Hudson River as well as moving into the western Long Island Sound, in both cases passing through the city waters. This is definitely the best opportunity of the year for urban anglers to get into some really quality bass fishing under the city lights. Soaking bait at night is probably the most consistent option right now, but the bass are already acting aggressively in the warmer-than-average water and willing to strike at artificials. My go-to at this time of year is a big soft-plastic swim shad that the bass mistake for a rogue bunker.

Upstate New York Fishing Report

As more bass start pushing up the Hudson River, angling options are about to get even more interesting for a lot of anglers upstate. Living-lining and cut-bait usually the best options when the bass start moving up river, but they’ve also hit pencil-poppers at dawn and dusk as well as a variety of topwater plugs at night like darters and swimmers.

In the Lake Ontario region, boats have been going back in the water for a few weeks now. “It’s been up-and-down for the most part,” was the word from Sharon at Narby’s Station in Kent, “they’re doing real good trolling along the shore line, though, catching everything — Chinook, browns and steelhead.” Temperatures have been fluctuating wildly upstate, and snow’s back in the forecast for the first half of next week. “It’s been one of the strangest seasons I can remember” Sharon told me. The other bright stop has been the early-spring stream fishing. Anglers have been catching a lot more quality smallmouth bass and pike in the local streams than in years past, and even the perch fishing has been pretty good in the area overall.

New York Fishing Forecast

If you’re within driving distance of Long Island’s western south shore and can make the trip this weekend, that’s where I’d be. Anglers are getting into good numbers striped bass in the high 20- and into the low 30-pound class. The larger bass are keyed on the schools of adult bunker, but a lot of nice fish are also being caught with cut-bait at night. Anglers are doing well with cut-bait by boat and from the sand beaches and local piers. The headboats sailing out of the city and as far west as Captree have also been doing well with bass at night, and “boat limits” have pretty much been the norm in the first week of the season. If you’ve decided to make the trek to the New York Bight area to get in on this bass fishing, consider making it a full day and doing some flounder fishing before heading out for the nighttime bass bite. Even though the two-fish flounder limit is discouraging for some, it’s definitely helped the local flounder populations on the island, and fishing is steadily improving from year-to-year. More fish are showing up in places they haven’t been caught in decades. Some of my earliest childhood memories are from flounder fishing on the Captree headboats with my dad and godfather, so it’s good to see some encouraging signs in this long-distressed fishery.