Long Island Fishing Report 7-17-14

North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Captain Mark of the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson said the bottom fishing was picky this week with the strong moon tides, but there were plenty of big porgy coming over the rails, and the sea bass continued to bite as well as they have been the past few weeks. Carmine at Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station said that scup of 2 to 3 pounds are not uncommon, and any hard structure works just fine, but mussel beds are especially active while using worms and clams. The weather this week didn’t make the opening day of sea bass very easy, but Captain Stu of Northport Charters out of Northport reported that anglers hooked up with fish to 4 pounds at Eatons Neck, and they look forward to better catches once the weather allows the boat to get out.

There are enough fluke around to keep anglers busy, but they are pretty spread out, according to John from Terminal Tackle in Kings Park. However, he reported solid fluke fishing in the Nissequogue where the fish are more heavily concentrated in a smaller area. Carmine at Campsite said squid and spearing are working for those anglers fishing for flatties at the Triangle and Brush Pile in 20-30 feet of water.

John at Terminal Tackle said there are 20-40 lb bass coming into the shop that were caught underneath the bunker schools in Huntington and Northport Bays and outside on the drop offs. Captain Stu of Northport Charters reported that big blues of 15 lbs are also chasing the bunker schools.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Fluke reports on the South Shore were very easy to come by this week as the fish seemed active all over. Bill at Combs Bait and Tackle in Amityville said there is a new batch of fluke in the bay west of Wantagh. The best time to catch them is at the top of the tide through the first two hours of the outgoing using pink bucktails tipped with squid or spearing. Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Wantagh reported summer flounder to 5.5 lbs coming from Fire Island Inlet and Fire Island Reef this week. If you wanted to head to deeper water, Bay Park Fishing Station of Oceanside reported there were plenty of small keeper fluke southeast of the Tankers in 60-70 feet of water caught on squid and spearing and a mix of fluke and sea bass out at Cholera. Bryce at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said anglers caught some big fluke of 9-10 lbs in Shinnecock Bay, and the first triggerfish began showing up in Shinnecock this week also.

Henry at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon said that the bass have been very sparse on the western South Shore lately. There are not many bunker around, and the stripers moved east out to Montauk. However, the bass bite in Shinnecock Inlet has been decent with good flurries of action here and there, according to Bryce at White Water.

Bryce also reported that the offshore bite continues to be excellent. Shark fishing is phenomenal right now, and the tuna bite is also picking up very nicely.




Metro Long Island Fishing Report

The porgy fishing around western Long Island continued to pick up this week. John at Jack’s Bait and Tackle in the Bronx said the scup are all over now from Orchard Beach up to New Rochelle, Rye, and Mamaroneck and out to Sands, Prospect, and Matinecock Points. Stretch from Stella Maris Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn reported that the porgy are thick at the Tin Can Grounds, and the fishing is excellent even at night.

Vinny at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said the fluke action is phenomenal right now, but anglers had to pick through a lot of shorts for a few keepers. Anglers found decent fishing around Coney Island and throughout the Ambrose Channel, according to Stretch at Stella Maris.

Striper fishing has been very tough for the past few weeks, but John at Jack’s Bait said guys hit some bass and blues to 10 lbs around Buoy 42 at night. There are also blues to be found under the birds during the day, and Vinny at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle reported a few cocktails were caught off the beaches.

East Ends/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report

While most anglers that headed toward the East End last week to fish were more interested in bass, there were plenty of other opportunities out there as well. Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck reported plenty of porgy caught in Peconic Bay, and a few weakfish are scattered around that area as well. There were also some weakfish caught off Noyack, Greenport, and around Buoy 16 and scup at Rocky and Hortons Point, according to Steve at Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold.

Paul at Paulie’s Bait and Tackle in Montauk said anglers have been catching decent fluke at Shagwong on bucktails. Between the Forks, Steve at Wego said the fluke bite has been good at Gardiners, the Ruins, and Bug Light. In the Sound, Buoy 5, Hortons Point, and Mattituck Inlet have been hot spots for some nice flatties and sea bass, according to Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle.

Maureen at Gone Fishing Marina in Montauk said they have never seen bass blitzes before like the ones going on right now, with 30-40 lb fish being caught on the regular using live eels and spot during the day and night. Captain Bob of Rainbow Charters out of Orient said that the bass bite is nearly constant in the Rips with plenty of blues mixed in, but be sure to check the weather and watch for surges as you can get into some trouble out there if you’re not careful. Paul at Paulie’s said that while the boat anglers are catching their limits, the guys on the surf just have a pick of stripers at Lazy Point and in Napeague Bay. Steve from Wego said the bass fishing on the flood tide at the Gut and Race have been excellent, with blues of no less than 10 lbs mixed in. North Fork fishing isn’t quite as insane, but Hortons Point and the Motel have their share of stripers on live eels during an outgoing tide, according to Bill at Jamesport.

Courtney at Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk said the shop had their 2nd Annual Shark Tag Tournament this past weekend, which resulted in a total of 53 tagged sharks. There were 27 blue sharks, 24 makos, and 2 tigers tagged throughout the weekend, of which 6 received GPS satellite tags.

Best Bets for the Weekend

This past week was another good one for fishing action, despite the unsettled weather. The weekend forecast is looking much better than what we have seen the past few days, so getting out on the water shouldn’t be a problem. As always during the summer months, porgy are very abundant all around the Island and usually will make for a successful day on the water. Scup continue to be stacked in all the usual spots, and clams and worms are the bait of choice.

If you target summer flounder, you will catch a good amount of fish, but keepers are getting scarce. The South Shore and East End seem to have the highest concentration of larger fluke, but there are keepers all around if you are patient enough to pick through shorts.

The insane East End striper fishing is no secret at this point. The blitz is just about constant, but one good blow could push the bait out of the area, so get out there while the fish are around. Live baits are best. There are also bunker pods on the North Shore, which can produce good fishing if you are lucky enough to find the right school of bait.

Sea bass opened up on Tuesday, but I was not able to get many good reports due to the weather. Boats shouldn’t have a problem getting out this weekend, so hopefully I’ll have some better news for the next report.