North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park reported that the porgy are still littering the North Shore on any hard bottom. There are plenty of scup during the day in 20 to 40 feet of water, and they move in toward the beaches in the evening.
John from Hudson Park Bait and Tackle in New Rochelle said the fluke are cooperating in the western Sound, with fish in the 21 to 26 inch range being fairly common. Further east, the fishing is a bit more spotty and the fluke are spread out quite a bit. However, John at Terminal Tackle said a good place to try right now is in the Nissequogue. There are a nice amount of keepers from the mouth all the way up the river as far as you can get.
Phil at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport said the back bays and marshes continue to hold small schoolie bass for those who want to do some light tackle and top water fishing. Phil also reported there are a few blues around, but nothing crazy. The larger fish are in the 3 to 10 pound range, and the snappers are also beginning to show up. There was a slow pick of larger bass this week as they moved deeper to get away from the heat, according to John at Terminal Tackle. However, he said there are blues moving the bait around, and those anglers trolling wire are hitting fish in the 5 to 8 pound range. You can also find blues moving up and down the beaches, but they are not here in their usual numbers.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported anglers catching plenty of keeper fluke to 5.5 pounds at the Tankers and on the Rockaway Reef in 60 to 65 feet of water. Fluke rigs with spearing and Gulp were doing the trick. Bill at Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville said there is a lot of short action in the State Boat Channel from Lindenhurst to Zach’s Bay, with the occasional keeper mixed in on white and green bucktails. He also said fluke to 5 pounds were found this week in both Jones Inlet and Fire Island Inlet on an outgoing tide. Captain Joe of the Jib VI out of Captree said the boat has been catching decent fluke to 6 pounds on the top of the flood tide, but the bay needs to clean out all the seaweed for the fishing to get a bit more productive. In the ocean, Rob from Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport said the fluke fishing has been sporadic with the fish moving to a different location every day. Captain Ryan of Grand Bahama Mama Charters out of Hampton Bays reported that the fluke action in Shinnecock Bay has been pretty consistent, but the ocean fishing is still spotty. The Jib VI had a rough few days with sea bass this week, but a few anglers caught their limits.
Henry from Trophy Tackle in West Babylon reported that the bass bite slowed significantly after the storm last week with the stripers moving east toward Montauk, and the blues aren’t on the South Shore in great numbers either. Shinnecock bass fishing is also inconsistent, according to Captain Ryan of Grand Bahama Mama, but he is hoping things pick up once the water cleans up a bit.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
Big Tony at Jack’s Bait and Tackle in the Bronx said that the porgy bite in western Long Island is really heating up nicely with good catches around Pea Island, Huckleberry Island, the Execution Lighthouse, and at the Hens and Chickens. Stretch from Stella Maris Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn added that the Tin Can Grounds were also a productive spot for scup this week.
Fluke are still making a nice appearance with keepers coming from Coney Island and the Ambrose Channel around the A Buoy, according to Stretch at Stella Maris. Big Tony at Jack’s Bait reported fluke to 10 pounds were caught around Harts Island and the area barges.
Vinny from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said the bass and bluefish bite is mainly happening during the night and early morning hours, although even then things are not red hot. John at Hudson Park Bait and Tackle reported a few stripers to 40 inches on bunker from the Execution Lighthouse to Mamaroneck.
The shark bite is still going on strong this week. Vinny at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle said the thresher fishing is great out at 8 to 10 miles, and Stretch at Stella Maris reported anglers catching makos and threshers just 2 to 3 miles off Rockaway Reef.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Bill at Jamesport Bait and Tackle in Mattituck said the weather made it a tough week to get out with a strong southwest wind and big rollers, but those porgy fishing in the Peconic around Robins Island, Jessups, and the Greenlawns were able to fill their buckets. Alex at Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold also said Gardiners Island produced a nice catch of scup this week as well.
Gardiners has also seen some great fluke fishing, according to Captain Mike of Prime Time 3 Charters out of Orient. The boat pulled up a ton of sea bass as bycatch, which were quickly released. Captain Mike is looking forward to a great sea bass season opener on July 15th. Captain Lou at Star Island Marina in Montauk wanted to let everyone know that they will be holding their 1st Annual Fluke Tournament this Saturday, July 12. You can visit their website for more information.
David at Westlake Marina in Montauk said the bass fishing is world class right now, and their charter boats haven’t seen fishing like this in years. The stripers moved to the East End from the South Shore after the hurricane came through, and fish from 30 pounds to well over 40 pounds are regularly coming over the rails. Captain Lou at Star Island Marina said the bass fishing is “stupid” right now, with charters and boats limiting out of fish up to 49 pounds. He reported that there was a big blitz on Wednesday morning and even full day trips were back at the dock by 10 am. The boats are using live eels, spot, porgy, and diamond jigs. Captain Bob of Rainbow Charters out of Orient also reported that the bass and blues are biting well, and they have been hitting big fish at the Northern Rips during the day and at the Race at night. Captain Mike of the Prime Time 3 has also been fishing the Race with good results as the full moon approaches. The boat limited out on stripers this week, and the pool fish is consistently in the 30 pound range. On the Sound side, Bill from Jamesport Bait and Tackle reported that bass moved in and are now off the Motel and Hortons Point, and anglers are using live eels or live porgy to hit fish in the 25 to 30 pound range.
Maureen at Gone Fishing Marina in Montauk said the shark fishing continues to be spot on, with the shop weighing in makos to 145 pounds this week.
Best Bets for the Weekend
With what looks to be a nice weekend ahead, you cannot go wrong with the porgy. They are loaded on every side of the Island now, and you just have to find some hard bottom to drift over in order to fill your buckets.
The fluke fishing has been a bit tougher, but there is plenty of short action all around if you are just looking for a bent rod. For a chance at larger fish, the Nissequogue on the North Shore just received a new batch of decent sized fluke, and you can pick out some keepers from the bottom structure in the South Shore, Metro, and East End areas. Bucktails, fluke rigs tipped with squid and spearing, and Gulp are all working.
If you want big bass, you have to head out East. Now is the time to catch slob stripers all day and all night long. Most boats are exclusively using live baits, which seem to be working the best right now. There still are opportunites for bass in other areas of the Island, but you will have to work very hard for a keeper as the fishing has not been really consistent.
Everyone has been looking forward to the season opener of sea bass on July 15th, and it is almost finally here. Hopefully there will be some nice catches to report next week.