The ongoing trend of overcast days and cooler nights has definitely helped extend this year’s already-epic spring fishing for at least a few more weeks, and hopefully beyond the quickly-approaching solstice. The bite continues to chug along at a good-to-great clip throughout the bulk of the state’s coastal waters, and the full moon tides this past week, paired with the unsettled weather pattern and a rare astronomical event, created the perfect conditions for drawing big “cow” striped bass close to shore. Fluke fishing also benefited from the fast-moving water in most areas, and fishing has reached a steady consistency overall with plenty of keepers in the mix to justify targeting the popular summer flatfish. Upstate, take your pick of trout, salmon, walleye or pike because they’re all on the chew throughout the northern reaches of the state. With favorable conditions on the horizon, it looks like we’re heading for another great fishing in New York State.
East End Fishing Report
Montauk is well on its way back to mid-season form that should hold out all the way through fall. As always, the Viking Fleet is on the leading edge of the charge. The quality fishing has continued, and in some cases improved, on three fronts this week, and things are likely to get even better as we move further into June. Ground fishing in the canyons continues at a good-to-great clip, and has only been limited by the less-than-ideal conditions on the grounds during the latest trip. The annual “Hungry Man’s Special” offshore trip returned to the dock early this week after a tough grind due to a persistent 20- to 25-knot winds out of the northeast. However, in typical Viking fashion, anglers and crew worked together to turn out another respectable offshore trip for the logbook. Day one was mostly a slow pick of a mid-size deepwater mixed-bag, however, the final two and a half hours of light produced good numbers of tilefish and northern grouper as well as one of my favorite deep-water groundfish filets — the elusive and sweet-fleshed hake. After racking out for the night, the “Hungry Men” woke to even tougher conditions on the grounds, with a persistent northeast wind that refused to die. However, fishing through the slop the trip turned out to be another success in the deepwater. Inshore, the nighttime bass fishing is heating up off Montauk Point, and the most recent Viking trip saw one “cow” tip-the-scales at 42.41 pounds.
South Shore Fishing Report
There’s a lot going on off Long Island’s south shore right now, and it’s been a really great spring to be an avid saltwater angler in New York — especially if you were smart enough to “free up” some time in your appointment book. With water temperatures still holding in the low 60s for the bulk of the south shore right now, it has allowed the solid bite to spread over a wide area without really shutting down in any areas. Jamaica Bay is a sanctuary for quality mixed-bag inshore fishing, and those with access to even the most basic ocean kayak are filling the coolers with quality fish. Air temperatures are set for a significant, and possibly long-term warm up, so getting out these as much as possible over the next week is certainly advisable. The only place along the entire south shore which is begging to see some effects of warming water is around the city. However, even there, where sea-surface temperatures are begging to flirt with that notorious 70-degree mark, the bass and blues are still more than willing to put the feedbag on after the sun goes down.
North Shore Fishing Report
The north shore is definitely catching up with the south shore, and in many places it’s now pretty much an apples-to-apples comparison. Large numbers of bass, blues, porgies and fluke have invaded the Long Island Sound. Diamond jigging during the day over structure in the mid-sounds is producing good numbers of “gorilla” blues and keeper linesiders. Scup fishing has also picked up significantly throughout the Long Island Sound, and some of the fish are reaching into the low 4-pound class. On the surf front, this is the time of year to get reacquainted with the numerous rocky outcroppings along Long Island’s north coast. This is also the time when my focus shifts almost exclusively to throwing pencil poppers at first and last light and slowly retrieving darters during the overnight session.
Metro New York Fishing Report
With water temperatures still hanging in the low 60s in the bulk of the New York Bight, the quality fishing has shown no real signs of letting up in the near-term. The one change this week for the metro area is the beginning of the inevitable warm-up of inshore waters. The persistent overcast conditions this week have made it tough to get a quality satellite imagery of the overall sea-surface temperature “situation” in the area, but the water around the city does look ready to break through the 70-degree barrier. A few recent changes in the bass and bluefish’s feeding patterns also seem to back-up this inevitable trend. However, this doesn’t mean all the action will immediately slide to the east. Large predatory fish will first shift their feeding schedules to a nocturnal pattern, before abandoning the area all together in search of cooler waters to the east. As long as you don’t mind giving up a few hours of quality “rack time,” there’s still plenty of fish to be caught within the city limits. One great way to take advantage of the ongoing local nighttime bite is getting aboard the Marilyn Jean IV hailing out of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn — just make sure you call ahead because some trips are selling out in advance. The nighttime fishing has kept of the vigorous pace of the past few weeks, with the added bonus of more linesiders mixing in with the “chopper” blues on recent trips. Conditions look great for the upcoming weekend, and right into the beginning of next week.
Upstate New York Fishing Report
There’s been plenty of quality angling opportunities to be found upstate this spring to occupy the full attention of even the most jaded sweetwater angler. Whether you’ve been after the huge wild-born rainbows of the Upper Delaware River System in the Catskills, trolling the deepwater of Lake Ontario for a mixed bag of trophy brown trout and assorted salmonoids, or hunting the Saint Lawrence for a few of those infamous double-digit slob walleye — it’s been a pretty great spring. And, as the calendar goes, we’ve still got two strong weeks to go until we can officially call this early-summer fishing. In the Lake Sacandaga area, work from Bill at Jim’s Bait Shop is that some nice walleye have been coming into the shop caught in the big lake. Most anglers are using shiners fished on the bottom in 15 to 20 feet of water. Pike fishing has also been good in the area, with several fish in the double-digits caught in the area this week. Walleye fishing in the Mohawk River has also been good recently, with several fish weighing in the high-single digits caught in recently.
Best Bets For the Weekend
There’s so many quality angling opportunities to be found around the state right now, it’s tough to narrow it down to a few options. My first bit of advice for this weekend’s angling adventure would be — stay local. No matter where you live in the state, a world-class fishery is no more than a half-hour steam away. The trout, walleye and pike options to be found upstate are numerous and consistently producing trophy-quality fish. Downstate, take your pick between stripers, blues, fluke, or porgies. Huge amounts of all species are spread out from north-to-south and east-to-west across Long Island. The bottom line — get out there and go fishing. Tight lines.