New York Fishing Report 7-5-2012

Long Island and New York Fishing Report for July 5, 2012

Water Warming but Big Bass Remain

We’re already past the Fourth of July and water temperatures are starting to spike, but we’re in store for another great week of summertime fishing. The striper fishing is going strong around most of Long Island, with lots of big fish landed in many locations this week using a variety of techniques. Black sea bass fishing is hot off the western south shore, and some true “doormats” are showing up in inshore waters. Upstate, it’s trout, salmon, panfish and pickerel as productive sweetwater fishing continues on most fronts. There’s still plenty to do as we move into midsummer, so make sure you get out there and enjoy it while you still can.

East End

Bass fishing in Montauk has turned on in classic fashion, with large numbers of big fish set up in the rips off the Lighthouse. Trolling wire and drifting live bait continue to be the best options for finding these larger fish during the day. The stripers are even hitting live eels during the day. Drifting eels on a three-way rig is also the best option for fishing the rips during overnight hours.     From the surf, the locals are picking up keeper size bass along with intermittent blitzes of cocktail bluefish. A 1½-ounce bucktail in white tipped with a red-and-white Uncle Josh pork rind is one of the preferred methods for hooking a few of these linesiders during the day. At night, options expand a little. Bombers, darters and soft plastics thrown around the Point will all draw some attention from the resident bass.

South Shore

Huge schools of menhaden are still boiling outside Debs and Jones inlets, and occasionally making their way inside the bays on incoming tides. The big bass, many in the 30-pound-class and beyond, are feeding heavily outside the inlets and moving through the large schools of bunker. Although most are still within the legal three-mile limit, some fish are now feeding in deeper water, in the 60- to 70-foot range, and occasionally as deep as 90 feet. It’s been a little on the slower side inside the bays. Water temperatures are already flirting with the 80-degree mark in the back bays. There’s still some fluke around in the Jones Beach area. Ed from Jones Beach Fishing Station reports that some of the local sharpies are still landing keeper-size fluke from the pier on live killies and spearing. Ed also reports that the menhaden the came inside the bay this week were not being harassed by many linesiders, so heading outside inlet is definitely your best bet right now.

North Shore

There’s plenty of great angling options to be found right now from one end of Long Island’s north shore to the other. Fluke, stripers, bluefish sea bass or porgies — take your pick — all fisheries are productive right now. It a good time of year to do an evening/nighttime combo trip for fluke and stripers. Drift a squid-and-spearing combo for fluke in the evening then anchor up over some structure to fish fresh bunker chunks at night. You can easily put a few keepers of each species on ice during one six-hour tide. Porgy fishing during the day is another productive option to put some fresh fish on the table, and there’s also been larger-than-usual number of black sea bass in the sound this season compared to recent years. The sea bass prefer the clam belly, so it’s a good idea to put those aside while cutting bait and switching them when a few nice bass start coming up. Fishing over wrecks in 30 to 60 feet of water is also a good idea when targeting them.

Metro New York

Although it’s definitely a little tougher to find some decent striper fishing around the city than it was a month ago, there’s still some quality angling options to be found within the metro area. The headboats in brooklyn are still doing decent with black sea bass inshore and finding plenty of big ling on the local wrecks. Nightime weakfishing has also been productive, an interesting development, with recent trips yeilding solid numbers of the elusive seatrout. Conditions look great for the upcoming weekend, and there’s a decent chance the sea bass fishing will return to the quality bite of two-weeks ago. Heading out for an evening of weakfishing is also a good way to beat the oppressive summer heat.

Upstate New York

With the state’s coastal waters still so active this time of year, it’s easy to forget about all the high-quality angling options to be found upstate during the mid-summer months. Deepwater trolling in Lake Onterio continues producing big browns and chinook salmon, while quality panfishing continues in the farm ponds and small lakes across the entire region. At this time of season, when water temperatures are spiking significantly, live worms and shiners are usually your best bet to draw consistent action. Down in the Catskills, high water temperatures are starting to affect some of the trout fisheries according to Evan at Beaverkill Angler in Roscoe. The crew at Beaverkill is recommending anglers don’t fish the Willowemac or Beaverkill Rivers for the time being, and instead stick to the East and West Branch of the Delaware River where water temperatures are within the acceptable mortality-rate level. Fishing remains good on both the East and West Branch, although it become a little “technical” on some stretches of the rivers.

Best Bets

Although it’s been at the top of my list for over a month now, livelining bunker off Long Island’s south shore remains my go to option for high-quality angling this weekend. There’s a large population of 30-plus-pound bass working hard on the bunker schools, and they remain pretty locked-in at the moment. Just remeber to keep the battle as short as possible this time of year, especially if you’re playing catch-and-release with the large fish. Water temperatures are quickly rising into the low to mid 70s, and a shorter fight gives the bass its best chance to recover and potentionally reach another breeding season. Bass fishing out in Montauk is also worth mentioning, with plenty of large fish being hooked on the rips. It’s going to be hot this week, but the great fishing conditions will definitely make the heat a little more bearable. Tight lines.