North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

The striper fishing on the North Shore has been slow, but there are still some fish to be found. Mark from Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport said that a good place to try is in 60 to 80 feet of water on steep drop-offs around The Triangle. They recently weighed in a 40 lb fish that was taken from that area. Robert over at Hi Hook Bait & Tackle in Huntington also said that anglers using bunker chunks off Eatons Neck have been landing some keepers as well.

Blues have been making an appearance the past two weeks and you can find them in many of the same places as the stripers. Fish up to 17 pounds have been weighed in from The Triangle and decent sized fish have been found around Buoy 11B. Snappers are also prevalent all over the harbors and docks.

The fluke bite has died off a bit the last few weeks, but there is still a shot of a few keepers from the North Shore. John from Terminal Tackle in Kings Park reported that flatties have been found in 50-60 feet of water on rock piles, and live snapper are the key to landing a big fish.

Porgy are still the way to go on the North Shore. John at Terminal Tackle said that there are scup literally everywhere, and anglers can find them all along the beaches, over rock piles and mussel beds, and have been showing up in Northport and Huntington Harbors. Kids fishing for snappers have also been landing porgy around the pilings and town docks. Robert at Hi Hook also said that they are piling up off Marshall Field and Buoy 13, and are hitting on clams and worms. As it has been, sea bass have been mixing in all the same spots you can find porgy and there are a decent amount of keepers around.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

The bass bite on the South Shore has been very spotty lately, but anglers have been rewarded when putting in a lot of time. Bert over at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays reported that there are fish feeding on sand eels off the beaches. Anglers are having luck catching them on tins and jigheads tipped with Gulp. Chasing Tails also reported that using clams off the beach has been working as well.

The same lures and baits have been fooling the blues off the beaches as well. Big fish are also being found in the inlets hitting on diamond jigs. There is a good morning bite for both blues and stripers.

The fluke bite has been decent and seems to have picked up a little from last week. Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported that fish over 9 lbs are being landed on the AB Reef and north of the Tankers using spearing, squid, and Hi Lo fluke rigs. They are also being found in the bays using squid and bucktails.

Porgy and Sea Bass are being found in many of the same areas that you can find fluke. The Tankers area has been very productive for both fish, and the AB Reef has been doing well for sea bass using gulp, clam, baby bunker, and KO rigs, with green being a hot color right now.

Metro Long Island Fishing Report

The good bass bite from the last few weeks seems to have died down now. Ralph over at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said that there is decent night fishing, and boats targeting stripers have been catching a few around the Verrazano Bridge and in the Ambrose Channel. There still are a few fish around, but keepers are getting hard to come by.

Despite the striper decline, the blues have really started picking up. Tony from Jack’s Bait and Tackle in the Bronx said they can be found off Little Neck, The Fort, and the Throgs Neck Bridge using fresh bunker. They are also being caught in the early morning around the Breezy Point Jetty using jigs, according to Ralph at Bernie’s. Snappers are of course everywhere, and Louie from Island Bait and Tackle in the Bronx said that snapper poppers and tins have been working better than bait right now.

The fluke fishing has also been pretty good with keepers being found in a ton of different places. Louie at Island Bait said that fluke can be found in the channel right by the shop, around the City Island Bridge, Kings Point, Buoy 46, and Hart Island, just to name a few. Ralph also mentioned fish off Floyd Bennett Field, the Breezy Point Jetty, Marine Park Bridge, and the Tin Can Grounds. They are hitting on spearing, squid, and bunker strips.

The porgy bite seems to be up this week with fish being found all over. The shallow waters up to 25 feet around the local islands have been producing well for anglers using worms, with fish of almost 20 inches being caught. No word on sea bass from the Metro area, but there have been a ton of spot and croaker caught using worms and clams in the bay, around the Marine Park Bridge, and Floyd Bennett Field. Ralph over at Bernie’s also said that the first Albies and Bonito have started showing up around Breezy Point and the Tin Can Grounds.

East End Long Island Fishing Report

The striper fishing is still good on the East End with fish being found in a lot of locations. Mike from Star Island Marina in Montauk said anglers chunking and trolling are hitting fish at The Elbow, Midway, and Block Island. On the North Fork, Horton’s Point is good in 30-60 feet of water using bucktails and live eels, according to Bill over at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck.

Anglers chunking and trolling for bass have been finding more blues than they even want mixing in. Bill also said that the incoming tide is a good time to fish for them around Buoy 17 and Jesups.

The fluke fishing has been phenomenal off Amagansett in 30-60 feet of water. Mike at Star Island reported that anglers using sandeels and squid are regularly weighing in fish from 8-9 lbs. There are some fish on the North Fork, but keepers are far and few between.

The porgy are all over the Peconic and on structure in the Sound. Blowfish and Kingfish are also mixing in with the scup in some areas, namely around Robins Island. Anglers are also getting lucky with some weakfish on the outgoing tide around Buoy 17 and Jesups.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Heading out East is still your best chance at a day of consistent striper fishing. There are still some fish to be found all over, but the numbers are definitely out on the East End.

Fluke is still doing well in most areas, but with it dying down a bit, you should get out while you still can to land a nice flattie on the Reefs or out East before the bite is gone.

Bottom fishing is excellent right now. Porgy are literally everywhere from the rocks and beaches to the harbors and docks. For the kids, take them to the docks for some great snapper and porgy fishing, and they are guaranteed to go home smiling.

Big blues are on the move and the fishing has been getting better each week. The shops wanted me to remind everyone that the WICC Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth is coming up this weekend, and with a huge prize for heaviest fish, that is a pretty good bet for this weekend!