North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

The weather made for slow fishing conditions across the Island this week, and unfortunately, there isn’t really anything new and exciting happening. The North Shore is still pretty quiet with the herring and freshwater ponds frozen over. I had heard of a few guys ice fishing at Blydenburgh Lake and catching some perch, but John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park mentioned they usually don’t allow ice fishing there, so I would double check before getting your heart set on going.

Robert at Hi Hook Bait & Tackle in Huntington hasn’t heard of anything good going on either, but ice fishing at the lakes in Yaphank might be worth a shot. I have also seen plenty of people fishing Artist Lake in Middle Island, although I couldn’t tell you how they have made out on the ice.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Greg at Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh said this was a rough week on the South Shore as well, since the weather kept the boats tied to the dock most days. When the boats did get out, the fishing was a little slower than we have seen in the last few weeks. Greg also told us that when the ice melts, there are herring to be caught at Magnolia Pier, but the cold has put a damper on that lately.

Luke at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays told us about the schoolies he and Vinny, also from the shop, have been catching lately. They have been getting lucky in various tidal creeks around the shop, landing stripers from 15 to 23 inches on small Storm shads and Slug-gos. They have even caught a few fish upwards of 27 to 28 inches, but the smaller ones are more plentiful. He will be heading out again this week, so we will see if the holdovers are still hanging out.

Metro Long Island Fishing Report

It’s the same slow story over in western Long Island. Vinny at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn reported that a lot of his customers have been heading east and hopping on the cod boats. There haven’t been many guys going out for herring, but if you want to give it a shot, there are inconsistent catches at Canarsie and Coney Island piers.

East End Long Island Fishing Report

We haven’t heard a whole lot coming from Montauk this week, but I have to assume the boats didn’t get out much on the East End either. When the boats were able to get out, they were sitting on top of the cod, but it seemed like the fish weren’t hungry. We are hoping for some better catches this weekend.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Well, we are in luck with the weather this weekend. Warm temperatures and rain this week have really done a number on the leftover snow and ice, and more rain Friday and temperatures upwards of 50 degrees should continue to melt things quite nicely. Cod boats are sailing all around the Island this weekend from eastern and western South Shore all the way out to Montuak. Since the weather is going to be turning a bit colder next week, this is a good chance to get on the open water while things are favorable. There are also a few boats going out on the western South Shore for tilefish and wreck fishing if you would rather try that.

You can also check out the lakes and harbors to see if the ice has melted enough to be fishable. The herring bite has been picky with the cold snaps we keep getting, but maybe these few days of warmth with turn them on. Before everything iced over, the freshwater bite was decent with anglers hooking up with trout, perch, bass, and pickerel. If you can find some open water, they may be worth a shot.