New York Fishing Report 9-13-2012

Fall Run Fishing Begins

As we approach the halfway point of the month, water temperatures are dropping faster and both offshore and coastal fisheries are becoming more active. The stripers are responding to the to the changing water temperature quickly, and are already feeding more aggressively over a wider area. There’s still some nice fluke being caught off the East End, and in deeper water outside the South Shore inlets. False albacore are popping off Montauk in Shinnecock and occasionally on the headboats fishing out of Brooklyn. Bottom fishing continues to be solid across the board, and some bigger porgies have started showing up. There’s an epic bigeye bite going on in the Hudson Canyon right now that’s captured the attention of all the Long Island tackle shops, and this is just the beginning. The signs of the approaching fall run have been showing up for weeks now, but this is the first time it feels like it’s officially on. Here’s the rundown.

East End

Stripers are stacked up in the Montauk rips right now, and some big fish started showing early this week as water temperatures fall into the mid 60s. The charter fleet at Star Island Yacht Club saw a lot of linesiders this week pushing into the 40-pound class. The fish are responding best to live bait, and live eels fished on a three-way rig have been producing consistently around the clock. For a long time I considered live eels an exclusively nighttime option, but the bass have been chewing hard on live eels even in Montauk for the past few seasons even at midday. Fluke fishing was also great this week, with a lot of nice doormats coming off of the Frisbees area and drifting the south side between the radar tower and the two-chimney house. The bluefish are also still thick just about everywhere, so make sure you bring plenty of hooks and bait if heading out bass fishing. Out in Hudson Canyon, the bigeye bite has been “phenomenal” according Scott at Star Island. The tournament this weekend saw 30 bigeye on the dock with the biggest checking in at 212 pounds. The fish are feeding aggressively, and “wolf packs” of bigeyes are coming up into the spreads in big numbers. One boat had a quadruple-header, which I’m told is already up on YouTube.

The action in the surf has picked up real nice, and everyone is finding some fish according to Sue at Paulie’s Tackle of Montauk. The Point continues to consistently produce teen-class stripers and 8- to 10-pound bluefish on bucktails during the day and darters and needlefish during the overnight session. The sand beaches in town are also producing fish with darters at night and small metals and bait during the day.

Shinnecock and Peconic Bay

Ken at Tight Lines Bait and Tackle also noticed a marked improvement in the fishing this week. Bass are beginning to creep west into the far eastern edge of the Peconic Bay which is loaded up with schools of adult menhaden. Out by Little Gull and Big Gull islands, the albies have been showing up in force and one of Ken customers returned to the store to day to load up on a dozen olive and while epoxy minnows he’d been slamming them with his 8-weight.

At White Water Bait & Tackle in Hampton Bays, Bryce also mentioned the the bigeye activity out in the Hudson saying that it was all everyone was talking about. Inshore, the striper fishing has improved significantly over the past week, with lots of keeper and non keeper fish moving in from the east. The false albacore have show up in the area as well, right now they’re popping up outside the inlet in 30 to 80 feet of water. Although the heave in the ocean earlier this week disrupted the fluke fishing quite a bit, it seems to be picking back up according to Bryce and most fish caught recently have been quality 4- to 8-pound keepers. There’s also still plenty of life in the Shinnecock Canal, with a mix bag of porgies, sea bass, snappers and triggers being caught.

South Shore

The recent satellite images from Rutgers University show water temperatures falling into the mid-to-upper 60s off of the eastern south shore and the fish are moving with it. Bass fishing continues to be strong in the Moriches area is slowly spreading east.

The report from John at Trophy Bait & Tackle in Babylon is that the Hudson Canyon is on fire right now. Although he’s also heard about bigeyes coming up on the troll, most of the sharpies at Trophy have been producing a lot of big fish on the chunk at night. Inshore, the Fire Island inlet area is holding lots of bait, big bluefish as well as some nice kings weakfish. John also mentioned that the mullet have shown up thick this week, another good sign of things to come. There’s also still plenty of peanut and adult bunker some holding in the area. Fluke fishing remains pretty solid, and keeper fish area still available in the deeper water around the artificial reefs. On the reefs, the bottom fishing is still productive and the porgies have been even more jumbo this week and there’s still a nice mix of sea bass, triggers and northern puffers alongside them. Although the bass have yet to show up in the area, John did mention reports of threshers chasing some surfers off of Gilgo Beach this week and a baby mako being caught and released in the area.

North Shore

Cooler nights over have past week and increasingly shorter days seem to be having a positive impact on the fishing in the Long Island Sound. Mark from Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport told me there’s been a big influx of bass into the area this week. The bass are also showing up in tight to the beach, giving the surfcaster their first good shot at nice linesider in months. Both pencil poppers and chunk baits have been producing in the early morning and evening hours. Mark also reported that there’s still some keeper fluke around, but culling through all the shorts has been challenging.

At Terminal Tackle in Kings Park, John recommends porgy fishing as the best option at the moment. They’re plentiful right now and holding in shallow water, some of John’s customers have been landing nice 2- to 2 1/2-pound fish from the local docks. Fluke fishing has also held out in the area, even though it’s getting a little late in the season for them. The fish are still holding in shallow water, too — in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 feet. Small Spro bucktails tipped with spearing or Berkley Gulp! is a great way to target these late-season fish. The cocktail-size bluefish are still all over, and some bigger blues and an occasional linesider are being caught with chunks of fresh bunker off Eaton’s Neck.

Metro New York

Although warm water conditions are persisting in the New York Bight for the time being, solid bottom fishing also continues for the party boats out of Sheepshead Bay like the Marilyn Jean IV. Porgy fishing picked up at the end of last week, and the sea bass bite has remained consistent in the deeper water. Some regulars have managed limits of quality sea bass on recent trips. The nighttime trips are still on the slower side but should pick up quickly once water temperatures drop back into the 60s.

Upstate New York

The trout fishing in the Catskills region benefited from the cool nights dipping into the 40s early this week. For the first time in months, water temperatures aren’t a major issue on some of the smaller rivers in the area like the Beaverkill and Willowemoc. Matt from Beaverkill Angler in Roscoe reports that water levels are still on the low side though, making the east and west branches of the Delaware River more attractive options overall. The fish are getting more a little more aggressive though, and the crew at Beaverkill has seen some good days on the river during the recent overcast days. Check out BeaverkillAngler.com for the latest reports from the area and info on their Columbus Day weekend even which will include lots of sweet gear and fly tying demonstrations from noted industry professionals. The king salmon bite over the past week has been “epic” in Pulaski. Huge numbers of 10- to 30-pound salmon are pushing up there river and anglers are hooking as many as 75 fish a day.

Best Bets

The blitzes in Montauk are starting, making a trip to The End a tempting option for the upcoming weekend. Not only are the 40-pound bass back in force in the rips off the Lighthouse, the false albacore have also been thick in the area this week. If you have the means, get out to Hudson Canyon ASAP for this bigeye “event.” It was mentioned by just about every shop I talked to today and should hold out for at least a few more days. The north shore is starting to produce some decent bass consistently from the surf if you can’t make it out east. The fishing should continue to improve overall as we approach the weekend and this month’s new moon tides. Tight lines everyone.