Porgies and Triggerfish Biting Well, Striper Fishing Solid Out East
It’s almost Labor Day, and although it’s a little hard to believe, the fall run is just around the corner. In the meantime, there are plenty of quality late-summer angling options to explore around the state. Striper fishing remains hot off the east end, and the bite should only get better over the coming weeks. Fluking has been a little tougher than last week, but remains solid overall off Long Island’s south shore, with enough double-digit doormats in the area to keep things interesting. Bottom fishing continues to be strong all around Long Island, with lots of big triggerfish outside of the western south shore inlets. There are only a few weeks of summer left, so make sure you get out there and enjoy it. Here’s the breakdown.
East End
Striper fishing remains steady in Montauk, and the action is slowly spreading west as water temperatures come off their seasonal highs. At White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays, Bryce reports that some stripers are finally starting to show up on the local beaches. If you’re looking to spend some time in the surf for these blue moon tides, fishing around sunrise and sunset is likely your best option for finding fish, unless we get a little cloud cover for the overnight sessions. Pencil poppers should draw the attention of any bass in the area during low-light conditions. Drifting eels in the Shinnecock Inlet at night has been producing some fish this week, and this bite should improve as more fish start pushing in from the east. The fluking has been a little tricky, but there are still some keeper fish inside and out of the inlet. There have been plenty of fluke inside the bay, but the problem right now is a high short-to-keeper ratio. Outside, the fish are more spread out, however some big doormats have been caught in 45 to 70 feet of water. Bryce also mentioned hearing some rumors about false albacore in the area, so make sure you’ve got a spinning outfit loaded with 30-pound braid and fresh drag washers. Use a long fluorocarbon leader and make sure you’re stocked up on small metals in the 1 ½- to 2-ounce range. Fishing in the Shinnecock Canal also continues to be productive, as there are a good number of keeper-size porgies in the area as well as some sea bass and even a few triggerfish. The snapper is red hot in the area, and a good bait option for ocean fluking. Just remember that the bag limit on snappers is 10 fish per angler.
South Shore
Fishing’s been good on a variety of fronts off of Long Island’s south shore this week. The striper fishing has improved to the east, and the fluking has been solid across the entire region. Ed from Jones Beach Fishing Station also reports that many nice porgies are being caught from the pier, and some nice triggerfish have been caught on the local wrecks. There has been some big bluefish caught from the surf in recent days and some nice kingfish around. Small circle hooks on a high-low rig baited with sea worms should do the trick on the kings, and a good option for deadsticking with a sand spike while casting topwater plugs to those “gator” blues running up-and-down the beach.
North Shore
Water temperatures are still running hot on the Long Island Sound, but cooler water is beginning to push in from the east end. Anglers putting in the time and fishing deep are managing to find a few quality fish, but the bite has been tough overall according to Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport. There’s some porgies, blues and a few stripers kicking around but the fishing has been tough. On the bright side, the table looks set for a classic fall run in the sound and it won’t be long until the water retreats back into the 60-degree range.
Metro New York
Jumping on a local headboat is probably the best option for getting into some quality fish within city limits this week. The quality sea bass fishing on the Marilyn Jean IV out of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn continues and the ling and are still cooperating on the tides when the sea bass are being finicky. A good amount of porgies have been around to round out the day’s catch. The nighttime trips have also been good, producing bass up to 35 pounds on recent trips. If you’re looking to fish from shore, heading out at night with fresh bunker is your best bet for tracking down a few blues and possibly a stray linesider.
Upstate
Trout fishing has been good for late summer up in the Catskills. Matt from Beaverkill Angler in Roscoe reports that the cooler nights have helped improve the fishing overall. They got a little rain on Tuesday in the area but could use more according to Matt. The Willowemoc and Beaverkill rivers are still flirting with 70 degrees, being too warm to support sustainable catch-and-release fishing. Make sure you bring your thermometer with you, because water levels are low and heating up quickly once the sun’s up. The East Branch and West Branch of the Delaware have been fishing better. The flying ants are showing up, as well as some isonychias. Just be prepared to use an extra-long leader and employ a few “technical” fishing skills.
Best Bets
Montauk remains top dog if you’re chasing linesiders over the long weekend, but there are plenty of quality bass still hanging in the rips off the Elbow willing to take a variety of offerings. Live eels are still the go-to option during the overnight session, and have also been drawing strikes when drifted during the day. The bass have also started hitting diamond jigs pretty consistently this week, another good option for those like myself who aren’t a big fan of dragging parachute jigs in 400 feet of wire. Ocean fluking has also been strong off the south side of Montauk, but some nice doormats are being caught outside of the south shore inlets right now if you don’t want to fight the east end traffic over the holiday. Upstate, shorter days and lows dipping into 40s at night will help activate sweetwater fisheries across the region. More catch-and-release trout waters are dropping below the 70-degree threshold, and the largemouth fishing should improve as fish begin moving into fall patterns. Tight lines.