North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
The porgy bite on the North Shore has continued to be consistent with scup starting to move closer to shore, according to Phil from Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport. He said anglers have been hitting fish off the beaches of Makamah and Sunken Meadow on sandworms and clams. John at Hudson Park Bait and Tackle in New Rochelle said Bayville and Oyster Bay are starting to get some good scup action as well. I had the opportunity to take a trip on the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson over the weekend with other members of the Long Island Outdoor Communicators Network. We ran to Rocky Point and targeted porgy in the morning. The action started off a little slow during the slack water, but once the tide started moving in, the bite got good with full buckets and the largest fish weighing in at almost 4 pounds.
Captain Stu of Northport Charters said the fluke fishing has gotten a bit more consistent with the average fish of 22 inches coming from Centerport and Huntington Bays. He also said there have been weakfish to 7 pounds mixed in with the fluke. Phil at Cow Harbor reported that the Triangle at Eatons Neck in 15 to 30 feet of water has been producing a good amount of flatties, and the shop even weighed in a 10 pound fish this past week. While using fluke rigs, anglers have also been hooking up with squid on a fairly regular basis.
The rock piles at the Triangle are also a good spot for blues and bass to 36 inches, according to Captain Stu at Northport Charters. John at Hudson Park reported bass up to 48 pounds coming from the middle of the Sound and said to look for bunker schools being harassed by fish underneath them for your best chance at a big striper. Phil at Cow Harbor also said you can find some smaller bass of 15 to 17 pounds off the beaches using bunker chunks, plugs, and darters.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
The fluke bite on the South Shore is improving, but continues to be picky, according to Mike from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays. Anglers are catching flatties in the ocean in 30 to 60 feet of water, but you have to put in the effort to pinpoint where the fish are on any given day. If you didn’t feel like going all the way out to the ocean, Ronnie at Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport reported that fish are still being caught back in Merrick Bay and in Swift Creek on spearing and squid. Bill from Combs Bait and Tackle in Amityville said it looks like a new migration of fluke in the 7.5 pound range have moved from the ocean into Jones Inlet and are settling around the Meadowbrook and Wantagh Parkways.
Henry at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon said that blues can be found just about everywhere, but there is a large concentration of them from Fire Island Inlet to Dune Wood.
Toward the eastern South Shore, Captain Ryan of Grand Bahama Mama Charters out of Hampton Bays reported bass from Shinnecock Inlet west to the Ponquogue Bridge on clam chum and poppers. To the west, anglers have been finding stripers from 34 to 36 inches around the bridges, according to Bill at Combs Bait.
We also heard from Mike at White Water that the party boats with RSA permits for sea bass have been picking away at fish, and it looks promising for when the regular season opens.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
Porgy are starting to trickle toward western Long Island, according to Stretch from Stella Maris Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn, but the catches have been pretty sporadic with a few fish here and there.
The fluke action is a bit better with John at Jack’s Bait and Tackle in the Bronx weighing fish at the shop over 7 pounds. Ralphie from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in the Bronx said no one is really killing them, but you can find some flatties just about everywhere. Stretch at Stella Maris reported that spearing and Gulp have been accounting for most of the catches on the Coney Island Flats and in the ocean on the Rockaway Reef.
John at Jack’s Bait said if you are looking for bass, you’re probably going to run into some bluefish also as they are pretty much in the same areas at this point. He said Stepping Stone Lighthouse and the Throgsneck Bridge have had some good catches almost exclusively on bunker. Ralphie over at Bernie’s also said chunks have been working well over at the Marine Parkway Bridge.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
There continues to be plenty of fishing opportunities available in between the Forks. The porgy fishing continues to be excellent throughout the Peconic, but for those anglers that want to hook up with nice bluefish, Bill from Jamesport Bait and Tackle in Mattituck said guys have been having luck jigging for them by Jessops at Buoy 17. Chris at Westlake Marina in Montauk reported that the fluke fishing isn’t on fire, but quality fish over 9 pounds have been coming from the Middle Grounds of the Peconic, and anglers are catching close to their limits. Captain Bob from Rainbow Charters out of Orient said there are also some fluke to be found throughout Gardiners, but the fishing has been spotty. Steve at Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold also said blowfish have begun showing up around Shelter Island, and you can find some quality weakfish in that area as well.
Bill at Jamesport reported that the fluke bite is getting better in the Sound off the Motel, at Buoy 5, and from Mattituck Inlet to Coopers Rock. Steve from Wego Bait & Tackle also said fluke have been plentiful off any of the sandy beaches on the Sound, including Truman’s Beach. On the South Fork, Courtney at Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk said the fluke fishing has been so-so on the south side with some days slower than others, but anglers are picking up fish consistently off the Radar Tower.
The bass bite is picking up quite nicely on the East End. The boats fishing southeast of the Montauk Lighthouse have been consistently hitting stripers in the 20 pound range, but one over 46 pounds was landed this week, according to Harry at Star Island Marina in Montauk. Chris at Westlake Marina added that the Rips and the Elbow have been productive, as well as the surf where an angler beached a 54 pound striper on an eel. Captain Mike from Prime Time 3 Charters let us know that the fishing is hot right now at Plum Gut and the Race, where his boat has been pulling bass over 30 pounds every trip.
Star Island wanted to remind everyone about their 28th Annual Shark Tournament, which begins next week.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The fishing is getting very, very good, and there is definitely something biting in your area. With the beautiful forecast for the weekend, there are no excuses not to get out there. Porgy are an easy fish to come by right now on the North Shore and in the Peconic if you anchor up on mussel beds or other rocky structure. Clams are doing the trick, and chum helps if you wanted to try that.
Fluke fishing is happening everywhere right now, but there seems to be good days and off days all around. Squid and spearing are the bait of choice, but you can also go for some Gulp and bucktails too. Many of the fish are not very deep, so don’t hit your summer fluke spots just yet. Instead, stick to structure in around 30 feet of water.
You can find big bass all over the Island now. There are still plenty of fish concentrated around western Long Island, but you also have a good chance of hooking up at the Triangle on the North Shore, in the inlets and around the bridges on the South Shore, and off both East End Forks. Bunker chunks are catching a good portion of the bass, but they are also hitting eels, bucktails, and plugs off the beaches.