Weather has been foul, but the fish are here in great numbers!

North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle reported that there is a hot bite going on right now in the Huntington area. Anglers using bunker chunks, especially the heads, are catching striped bass to 30 pounds. Bluefish have moved in, and the schools are thick with fish to 10 pounds. Porgies have made a good showing around the rock piles and mussel beds around Eaton’s Neck and Sunken Meadow. There are a lot of fluke around, but the body of fish in the area right now seems to be in favor of shorts, but still plenty of keepers being caught to keep anglers happy.

Terminal Tackle reports that fluke are everywhere right now around Smithtown, Huntington and Northport. The fish are being caught in 10 to 15 feet of water, and an occasional weakfish is caught while fluking. Bass action has been sporadic. Bait such as bunker has been lacking in the area, so the bass seem to be on the move looking for them. On the beach, there is good action with schoolies and cocktail blues to 3 pounds. Huge porgies are being caught from shore around West Meadow and Callahan’s, look for the rock piles and mussel beds to catch some of these jumbo scup.

Robert at High Hook Bait and Tackle said the bass action is excellent right now with cows to 43 pounds being weighed in at the shop. Bunker chunking has accounted for a majority of the big fish, but those trolling are still catching as well. Fluke fishing has improved since last week, with fish being caught by LIPA, Crab Meadow and Lloyd Harbor.

Bill at Jamesport Bait and Tackle said even with the foul weather this past weekend, anglers are still busy catching fish. Porgies are being caught throughout the bay in all the regular spots. There has also been a good run of weakfish and bass coming from the Riverhead area. The Greenlawns and the Oyster Factory in Greenport have been producing some good fluke action. On the other side of the fork in the Sound, anglers have been catching bass from the surf while tossing rubber shads. Mattituck Inlet, Buoy 5 and Horton’s Point have been producing some nice-sized fluke.

Captain Mike from the Prime Time III said bass fishing is great right now with limits common, and fish to 30 pounds. a regular occurrence. The porgy bite continues to be red hot, with anglers catching limits of scup to 3 pounds. The fluke bite is still building and pool fish tend to be in the 7-pound range.

 

Metro New York City Fishing Report

Jack’s Bait and Tackle said fishing is very good with bass, blues, fluke and porgies making anglers happy. The night bite for blues and bass has been very productive for anglers using bunker chunks. There are a lot of fluke in the area of Prospect and Sands Points, with anglers weighing in fish to 7 pounds. Porgy action has been phenomenal with limits common and fish to a whopping 5 pounds being weighed in at the shop.

Louie at Island Bait and Tackle also said the fluke bite is hot right now. With Prospect Point, and sections 1 and 13 holding a lot of fish. The key is fishing in 10 to 15 feet of water. Deeper water had fewer fluke and more sea robins. Bass action is also very good right now with many keepers being caught. Fifty-foot depths off of Prospect Point are where anglers using bunker chunks are catching the bigger fish.

John at Hudson Park Bait and Tackle said that fishing is outrageous right now. Large bunker schools have entered the area and with the schools are big bluefish to 14 pounds and bass to 30 pounds. Live-lining bunker or chunking the heads has been working the best. The fluke bite is red hot on the incoming tide with anglers easily catching their limits around Prospect and Sands Points and around Hen and Chickens. Porgy action is steadily building and hopefully the body of fish to the easy will be moving into the area over the next couple days.

Bernie’s Bait and Tackle reported that bass and bluefish action in the bay and ocean is good right now. Early morning, late afternoon and night have been producing bass, while blues are the dominant fish at night. Fluke are being caught from the Marine Park Bridge, Canarsie Pier and Floyd Benet Field. Sinker bouncers are enjoying good action with porgies, blowfish and kingfish while fishing area jetties, rock piles and mussel beds.

Stella Maris Bait and Tackle reported that the fluke bite is good right now, with the keeper ratio up a bit from last week. Cocktail blues can be found around the 69th street pier and throughout the backside of Jamaica Bay. At night, anglers have bee doing well with bass on the outgoing tide in areas around Plum Beach and Floyd Bennet Field.

 

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Trophy Tackle reported that fishing the bay has been very good lately. Fluke are being caught throughout the bay, and bass to 30 pounds are being caught by anglers live-lining bunker. Blowfish have made another return this season and fishing for them has been outstanding in areas such at the Babylon Pool. Bluefish are everywhere, with weakfish mixing in.

Causeway Bait and Tackle reported that fishing is great right now, with the inlet and all the local bridges holding bass, blues, fluke and weakfish.

Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle reported that the local docks remain very active with blues to 10 pounds and bass to 23 pounds taking bunker chunks. Stripers and blues are also active in the inlet and by the Lighthouse on clams. There are plenty of weakfish in the bay again by Cherry Grove, buoys 15 and 17 and in the middle of the Bay by 29 and 30 and also by the 8 can off Hecksher. They’re taking sandworms, bucktails and jelly worms.

Bay Park Fishing Station reported that anglers trolling bunker spoons outside Jones Inlet and near the Rockaway Reef have been scoring well with bass to 36 pounds.

Captain Lou at Star Island Marina said when the weather cooperates, anglers have been doing very well. Diamond jigging has been very productive for bass in the teens and blues to 10 pounds on the south side. The bluefish are thick, but there is a good amount of bass with them. Fluke fishing on the south side has also been very good in the 60-70’ depths. Anglers have also been catching a fair amount of sea bass, but all are released, as the season is not open yet. Over on the north side, the shallows around Gardiner’s Island have been producing jumbo porgies during the early morning tides.

Paulies Tackle of Montauk also agreed, when condition allow for the boats to leave the docks, the fish are there in good numbers. Anglers fishing the surf have been doing well on bass to 20 pounds on plugs and bucktails. Last week, blues to 8 pounds invaded the north side.

 

Best Bets for the Weekend

Big bass are still plentiful and those anglers using live bunker or chunks are scoring with the big cows.

Blues are just about everywhere, look for the birds.

For the sinker bouncer, porgies, blowfish and kingfish have taken residence around all the normal rock piles and mussel beds. Find your favorite spot and bring some chum to keep the fish around the boat.

Fluke are being caught both inside the bays and in the ocean. Using larger baits will deter some of the smaller, short fluke, and increase your odds of landing a doormat.

If you are not out there, you can’t catch ‘em!