North Shore Long Island Fishing Forecast

Phil from Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport said that there has been an influx of 3 inch shrimp on the North Shore and it seems to have brought a lot of schoolies to the area. Fish from 10 to 15 pounds have been caught on small chunks close to the beaches, but John from Terminal Tackle in Kings Park said the beach bite is unpredictable; however guys putting in the time at night have gotten a few fish. He also said a lot of fish have moved out to deeper structure at Cranes and Eatons Neck. Eels and jigging have accounted for bass up to 30 pounds.

There have been a decent amount of 5- to 7-pound blues hitting top water lures in Cold Spring, Huntington and Northport harbors, according to Phil from Cow Harbor. He also said you can find lone blues of 10 to 11 pounds at night off the beaches on chunks. Robert at Hi Hook Bait & Tackle in Huntington reported that there are blues mixing in with the bass at Eatons Neck while anglers are jigging or chunking.

Porgy are starting to thin out a bit but plenty of fish are still around. Carmine at Campsite Sport Shop in Huntington Station reported that worms and clams are working for the porgy and sea bass in the Triangle, especially at 11B and OB. John at Terminal Tackle said that although there are a lot of small blackfish, there are a surprising number of big ones around. Right now they are in 15 to 40 feet of water, and Phil at Cow Harbor said Target Rock, Marshall Fields, and the Brushpile by Eatons are all solid places. There are some anglers tog fishing around 11B and OB, but the water is a bit too warm for a large amount of fish to be going that deep yet.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Forecast

Stripers are lighting up the South Shore with good reports coming from the east to west ends. Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported fish from the AB Reef to Fire Island, the AB Bridge, Fire Island Lighthouse, and off Gilgo Beach in 40 to 50 feet of water using diamond jigs and trolling umbrella rigs. The shop even weighed in their largest striper of the year so far at 43.70 pounds caught east of Tobay Beach. Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reported even larger fish up to 50 pounds in the ocean. Further to the east, Mike from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays reported that the boats are doing well using diamond jigs and poppers and the beach guys are hitting fish right in the surf on darters.

There is a similar story with the blues and you can usually find them mixed in with the bass. Mark from Trophy Tackle in West Babylon reported just that with 15- to 16 pound fish cruising the beaches from Jones Beach to Moriches hitting on diamond jigs, swim shads and bait.

Bottom fishing is better on the western South Shore, but Mike at White Water said there are blackfish around the rock jetties to the outer wrecks and reefs anywhere from 10 to 80 feet of water. Bay Park reported a lot of tog on the AB Reef with the steady fishing during the incoming tide. Dan at Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh also said there are plenty of fish at the Fire Island and Hempstead Reef and around the area bridges in about 50 feet of water. There are a lot of weakfish reports also with fish outside of Jones Inlet and off the Pink Hotel, according to Mark at Trophy Tackle. Bay Park also said there are weakfish off the Church in Rockaway.

Metro Long Island Fishing Forecast

The stripers in the Metro area aren’t huge, but there are a lot of schoolies and a few keepers in the mix. John at Jack’s Bait and Tackle in the Bronx reported that bunker and mackerel are accounting for bass at the Execution Lighthouse, and swimming plugs are doing the trick on barely keeper sized fish at the Pelham Bay and City Island Bridges, according to Louie at Island Bait and Tackle in the Bronx. Vinny at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said there are some bass back by JFK being caught on bunker spoons.

There are 10-pound blues mixing in with the bass around the Execution Lighthouse and even larger fish up to 18 pounds are being caught on bunker around the area bridges.

John at Hudson Park Bait and Tackle is New Rochelle reported double digit blackfish in the western Sound off Rye Playland and around Huckleberry and Pea Islands. He said they are waiting for a dip in temperature for the fishing to get really good. Louie at Island also reported tog around Execution Lighthouse in 20 to 35 feet of water on Asian and green crabs. John at Jack’s Bait said the porgy bite is still really good with plenty of big fish around Pea and Huckleberry Islands on worms, clam, and chum.

East End Long Island Fishing Forecast

The boats are still doing well with the stripers, but Paulie at Paulie’s Bait and Tackle in Montauk said the beach bite was just okay. The bass are picky with fish biting on tins and bucktails an hour before dawn until an hour after sunrise, and then they turn off. Bill from Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck reported that the boats are also hitting fish off Horton’s on eels and chunks, but the beach has been quiet.

There haven’t been many blues off the beaches, which is good or bad depending how you feel about them, but there are definitely some hanging out a little further out mixing in with the bass. There have also been some reports of cocktails off the beaches on the North Fork.

Bill at Jamesport said there are a lot of blackfish off Horton’s and Rocky Point in about 25 to 30 feet of water being caught on crabs. Paulie also reported that the fishing is halfway decent at Fisher’s Island, but the water needs to get a little colder.

Best Bets for the Weekend

The best bets for this weekend are similar to last weekend. Stripers are blowing up on the entire South Shore with the boats doing well on the western side and the beach doing a bit better further to the east. Montauk boats are also hammering fish. Since the bass are still chasing sand eels, diamond jigs have been accounting for most fish, but umbrella rigs and darters are also holding their own.

Blackfishing is also doing excellent, especially on the western Reefs and the North Shore wrecks and rock piles. Asian and fiddler crabs may be hard to find, but green crabs are working just fine.

As these reports go up online, the weather has cooled off drastically compared to the warm temperatures from two days ago. That should make the bass and tog bites even better for this weekend, although this may be what pushes the porgy out into deep water. Despite that, the big guys should be willing to bite.