North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
The porgy fishing continues to be very good on the North Shore, with Carmine from Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station saying that the mussel beds are still thick with big fish. Phil at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport said anglers hitting Makamah Reef were rewarded with a good number of porgy using heavy chum. The scup bite off the beaches continues to be solid, according to John from Terminal Tackle in Kings Park, especially if the top of the tide coincides with sundown as that is when the porgy move back toward the shore.
Carmine at Campsite said that the fluke fishing is still good, however there were fewer keepers than shorts this week at the usual spots. Phil from Cow Harbor reported that the kayak anglers fishing off Crab Meadow and Makamah in about 15 feet of water were seeing a consistent bite using bucktails.
Captain Stu with Northport Charters out of Northport reported that his charters are regularly hitting 20 pound stripers at the Triangle off Eatons Neck using bunker chunks. Their stomach contents show that the bass have been feeding on plenty of mantis shrimp, which Captain Stu said they love this time of year. John at Terminal Tackle also said there are bass feeding on bunker in Smithtown Bay, so if you work the edges of a school of bait you could pull a nice striper. Phil at Cow Harbor added that the North Shore is starting to see some early morning bluefish blitzes with fish around 7 pounds.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Rob from Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport said that their shark tournament went well over the weekend with a 540 pound Thresher taking 1st prize.
Captain Ryan with Grand Bahama Mama Charters out of Hampton Bays said his boat has been hitting a decent number of fluke just west of Ponquogue Bridge. Bill at Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville reported that the Macallister Grounds are red hot with fluke right now with 7 to 9 pound fish being caught on a good drift. He also added that some smaller fluke of 3 to 5 pounds came from the area between the Meadowbrook and Lindenhurst.
Mike at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said the striper fishing off the beach is getting a bit better with anglers having luck using swim shads. He also said Shinnecock Inlet has been productive using live baits such as eel or spot. Captain Ryan of Grand Bahama Mama Charters added that he has had the best catches in the Inlet either in the early morning or late afternoon. Anglers have been finding bass chasing the bunker schools right outside of Fire Island and Debs Inlet, according to John at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon. Rob from Sea Isle Tackle reported that jigging and trolling around the bunker schools have accounted for excellent hauls of nice bass.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
There are finally a few decent porgy reports coming from the Metro area. Joe at Stella Maris Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn said there are scup starting to stack up at the Tin Can Grounds and off the Coney Island Pier in the surf. John from Jack’s Bait and Tackle in the Bronx also reported anglers having luck with porgy off of Rye.
John at Jack’s Bait said the fluke fishing is holding steady and there are fishing just about everywhere, but a few places that have been pretty hot are Sands Point, Prospect Point, Harts Island, the Throgs Neck Bridge, and around Big Tom. Frank at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said that there aren’t as many fluke as in past weeks, but there are quality fish around in the 5 to 8 pound range all the way in the back by JFK airport, you just have to work for them.
Stripers are still plentiful in western Long Island. John from Hudson Park Bait and Tackle in New Rochelle reported that the bass are chasing bunker in the area around Execution Lighthouse early in the morning. There are bass in the high 30 pound to low 40 pound range throughout the Ambrose Channel during early hours for those anglers live lining bunker, according to Frank at Bernie’s. John from Jack’s Bait also said smaller bass in the 20 to 25 pound range have been coming from the Throgs Neck Bridge and around the Stepping Stone Lighthouse with plenty of blues mixed in.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Bill at Jamesport Bait and Tackle in Mattituck said the porgy bite is still going strong in the Peconic around Buoy 22 by Robins Island. David from Westlake Marina in Montauk also said Cherry Harbor is still holding quite a few scup.
Steve at Wego Bait and Tackle in Southold said the shop weighed in their largest fluke of the season so far this past week. The fish tipped the scales at 10.86 pounds and it came from Shelter Island at the top of the tide. Plenty of other fluke in the 4 to 6 plus pound range have been also coming from that area using a squid and spearing combo on bucktails. Steve said it seems like there is a new body of fish that moved into the area. Captain Mike of the Prime Time 3 out of Orient reported that the fluke fishing around Gardiners continues to heat up with the pool fish usually being around 6 to 7 pounds, and the boat was able to limit out on Sunday’s trip. On the Sound side, Bill at Jamesport said the Motel in about 35 feet has been the most consistent spot, but Hortons Point does have a pick of fish also.
Paulie at Paulie’s Bait and Tackle in Montauk said the bass bite off the beach has been picky recently, but the boats fishing at the Elbow and the Slot at night are being rewarded with fish in the high 40’s and even a few over 50 pounds were landed. Maureen from Gone Fishing Marina in Montauk said live eels have accounted for bass over 40 pounds at Great Eastern, and Courtney at Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk also said there is a night bite off the Point on eels.
Ben at Star Island Marina in Montauk said they had a great shark tournament over the weekend with the heaviest fish prize being awarded to a 377 pound thresher and the prize for heaviest mako went to a 281 pound shark. Courtney at Montauk Marine Basin wanted to let everyone know that their 44th Annual Shark Tag Tournament is being held from June 26th to 28th, and there are still spots available. You can check out their website for more information.
Best Bets for the Weekend
It seems like we are lucky enough to have another beautiful weekend on the way. Porgy fishing will continue to be excellent for the rest of the summer, and this weekend shouldn’t be any different. Find any rocky or other hard structure to drift clams over, and the poles will be bending in no time. The North Shore and between the Forks have the highest concentration of scup, but western Long Island is getting better by the day. School is just about over for the kids, and this is a fantastic fishery to get them involved with so don’t forget to take them with you!
The consensus around the Island this week was that the fluke are still abundant, but anglers are starting to have to work a bit harder to find the keepers. You should be able to find some flatties using squid/spearing, bucktails, and Gulp over structure and drop-offs in about 15 to 35 feet of water.
The largest stripers seem to be coming from the East End and Metro areas right now. While chunking will work fairly well, using live baits such as eels and spot may just get you something big. The early morning bite seems to be the best at the South Shore Inlets and on structure toward the west, and Montauk is looking like the night bite is producing the most fish over that way.