North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

There are some schoolies on the North Shore with a few keepers in the mix, if you’re lucky. Mark from Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reported fish up to 26 inches were caught on jigs in the bays and in The Triangle. John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park said jigging was working at Cranes and Eatons Neck too. He also reported a morning bite off the beaches on plugs anywhere from Stony Brook to LILCO Power Plant. The middle of the tide seems to be the best time, and the guys putting in the effort and know where to go have been rewarded.

Blues of 4 to 5 pounds have been mixing in with the bass on jigs at the Triangle, Eatons Neck, and Cranes Neck.

John at Terminal Tackle said that the tog fishing went from decent to excellent this past week when anglers chose to beat the weather. Blackfish from 8 to 10 pounds were caught in 30 to 50 feet of water at Eatons and Cranes Neck. Mark from Cow Harbor also reported Buoy 11B and the Artificial Reef at Smithtown are doing really well with fish up to 7 pounds caught on crabs. He said to keep an eye on the water temperature. With this cold snap it might cool the water enough to make the tog move deeper. There are still some porgy around and the sea bass bite has been strong.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

The striper bite remains solid on the South Shore with fish being caught along the beaches on diamond jigs and Super Strike needlefish, according to Mike at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays. He also said that some bass have moved in to Shinnecock Inlet and are being caught on diamond jigs as well. Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported that south and west of Debs Inlet are loaded with fish up to 36 inches caught while trolling bunker spoons in 45 to 50 feet of water. Anglers also working the Atlantic Beach Bridge with clam have chummed up some bass to 23 pounds.

A few blues are mixing in with the bass west of Debs Inlet when trolling bunker spoons.

Joe at Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh reported that there are a good number of blackfish outside of Jones Inlet on crabs. Mike at White Water said that the tog have been biting good at the local wrecks, and anglers are starting to head out to the offshore wrecks for deep water cod and sea bass.

Metro Long Island Fishing Report

Louie at Island Bait and Tackle in the Bronx said there are some schoolies around the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges and up the East River. Mackerel, squid, and bloodworms are all good baits. Vinny at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said trolling, diamond jigs, and clams are working over by the Breezy Point Jetty and there seems to be a few more keepers around this week. Anglers have also been using live eels at night around the Marine Parkway Bridge and Breezy Point Jetty, according to Stretch at Stella Maris Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn.

Blues are not very abundant, however some fish are around at night hitting chunks of mackerel. A few are also mixing in with the bass around the Breezy Point Jetty.

The blackfishing is excellent in the Metro area with Louie from Island Bait pulling up a huge 14.5-pound fish! Anglers have been catching their limits off Rye Playland and around Execution Lighthouse in 30 to 50 feet of water. Vinny at Bernie’s also reported plenty of fish at Rockaway Reef and off the beaches on rocky structure.

East End Long Island Fishing Report

The weather this past week has made it hard for the boats to get out, but the surf has seen pretty steady action every day. Paulie at Paulie’s Bait and Tackle in Montauk said fish from schoolie size up to the low 20-pound-range have been caught on diamond jigs, needlefish, and bucktails during the day, with some fish caught at night as well. When the wind picks up in the right direction, the fishing gets really good. Paulie also said he doesn’t know what happened to the bluefish this year, but they have not showed up on the beaches at all.

Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck reported that north of Plum Island in 25 to 30 feet of water has been a productive area for blackfish. Fishers Island has been a definite hot spot for tog, and up at the Highway has been good too, according to Mike at Star Island Marina in Montauk. On the sea bass front, Paulie said the south side and Cerberus Shoal have seen an abundance of fish caught on clams.

Best Bets for the Weekend

The bass bite is still going strong on the South Shore. The beaches are holding fish and the Inlets are great places to be right now. Shinnecock has solid striper numbers now for anyone looking to get out on the Eastern South Shore, and for anglers further west there have been plenty of reports coming from outside of Debs Inlet. Jigging and trolling bunker spoons will work on the boats, and throwing diamond jigs, bucktails, and Superstrikes will do the trick off the beaches.

Blackfish are definitely worth the time as the fishing gets better every week. The North Shore has nice fish in all the usual places, Rye Playland in the Metro area is picking up huge tog, and Fishers Island is loaded right now. For those heading out this weekend, the fish might be a bit deeper than last week as this cold weather could bring down the water temperatures a bit.

Although this was a tough week to get out fishing as the weather did not cooperate very well, the fish did bite better as the weather got worse, and the anglers that got out there were rewarded. However, it looks like the wind may die down a bit by the weekend so we should be looking at more favorable conditions, at least for a little while, allowing people to get on the water.