North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
John from Hudson Park Bait and Tackle in New Rochelle reported that the porgy bite is getting hotter on the rock piles of Bayville, Lloyd Harbor, Matinecock, Hempstead, and all the way up through Rye. Phil at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport said that the scup are making their stay for the summer off Makamah and Crab Meadow.
Carmine from Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station said there are plenty of keeper fluke on spearing and squid at the Triangle, and sea bass are mixing in, but have to be thrown back since the season hasn’t opened yet. John at Hudson Park added that the fluke bite is picking up off West Hempstead and Sands Point with fish up to 26 inches landed this week.
The bass bite has gotten a bit better on the North Shore, and there are some fish being caught inside of Northport Harbor, Oyster Bay, and Cold Spring Harbor, according to Carmine at Campsite. Phil from Cow Harbor said chucks are working in the early morning in 30 to 50 feet at the Triangle for schoolies with a few larger fish mixed in. He also reported that cocktail blues of 2 to 5 pounds are starting to blitz off Crab Meadow, and the back harbors have seen small 6 to 12 inch fish popping up.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Ronnie at Sea Isle in Freeport said the fluke fishing has been a bit tough with plenty of short action going on, but the keepers are harder to come by. However, Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported fish to 5 pounds on squid and spearing southeast of Debs Inlet at the Tankers in 65 to 70 feet of water and at the AB Reef with sea bass mixed in. Toward the eastern South Shore, Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reported fluke over 7lbs coming from Moriches Bay on bucktails. Bryce at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said that the fishing in both Shinnecock Bay and the ocean have been relatively strong. Anglers in the bay have been catching more but smaller fish on bucktails, and those in the ocean are catching fewer but larger fluke on squid and spearing.
John at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon said the bass on bunker action in the ocean continues to be hot this week, but you have to do some searching to find the schools. There are also stripers in Shinnecock Inlet, according to Bryce at White Water, but the bluefish are so thick it is hard to get past them.
Captain Ryan with Grand Bahama Mama Charters out of Hampton Bays said the shark fishing is awesome, and the boat has been doing a ton of offshore trips with some half day inshore trips in between. There are trips available in the upcoming week if you are interested in booking. Bryce at White Water said the offshore tuna bite is going very strong at the moment as well.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
John at Jack’s Bait and Tackle in the Bronx said the porgy has picked up with the warmer weather we have had lately. The shop’s rental boats were hitting Prospect Point, Sands Point, and Execution Lighthouse for good hauls of scup this week. Frank from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said porgy up to 3 pounds have been caught off Breezy Point, and the party boats are even going for porgy over bass on the night trips as the bite has been better.
The fluke bite is red hot right now, according to John at Jack’s Bait, with flatties in the 7 to 9 pound range coming from the middle of the channel, Execution Lighthouse, Harts Island, Prospect and Sands Points, and around all the local bridges. Frank from Bernie’s also said it was an excellent week for fluke with fish from 5 to 8 pounds caught between Jamaica Bay and Sheepshead Bay.
Stretch from Stella Maris Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn said the bass bite has been tough lately, but anglers had some luck jigging blues under the birds this week. The daytime striper fishing has basically shut off around western Long Island, so anglers have been relying on a few fish at night that may be hungry.
Shark fishing is awesome right now, and you don’t have to go very far out for it. Stretch at Stella Maris said there have been plenty of threshers over 200 pounds caught only 2 to 3 miles off Jacob Riis Park. He also said if you wanted to head offshore, there are still some ling to be caught.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
The Peconic is still alive with plenty of action. Bill at Jamesport Bait and Tackle in Mattituck said porgy fishing is still good around Buoys 17 and 22 with a bunch of blowfish mixing in. Steve from Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold also added that there are a few weakfish and fluke hanging around in the Bay as well.
Captain Lou at Star Island Marina in Montauk said the porgy fishing is stupid right now with 3 pound scup thick at the Elbow, Porgy Lump, and on the south side. Over in the Sound, Bill at Jamesport said there are a few scup at Roanoke and off the Motel.
Also from Bill, you can find fluke off the Motel, Hortons, Buoy 5, and west of Mattituck Inlet to Cooper’s Rock in 30 to 35 feet of water. Captain Mike of the Prime Time 3 out of Orient said the boat has been doing well around Gardiner’s Island with fluke over 8.5 pounds, and Maureen at Gone Fishing Marina in Montauk reported that anglers have been doing well with flatties in the North Rips.
David from Westlake Marina in Montauk said the striper fishing has busted wide open, and boats are having their best days of the season so far with fish over 40 pounds off the Point while drifting eels or trolling parachutes. Captain Bob of Rainbow Charters out of Orient reported that the boat has been limiting out on bass to 30 pounds in the Northern Rips with the night bite producing better catches. He said this storm heading up our way will stir things up, and everyone should be ready for a good bite after the weather has cleared. Captain Mike of the Prime Time 3 said they have been fishing Plum Gut and the Race during the day and night trips with limits of fish being taken. The day trips are seeing bass in the 15 pound range, and fish over 30 pounds are coming over the rails at night. Captain Lou at Star Island said anglers are catching their limits of stripers to 50 pounds trolling the Elbow and jigging the Midway Rips. For the guys in the surf, Nick at Paulie’s Bait and Tackle in Montauk said tins are working during the day and eels at night on the south side. The north side is seeing some bluefish blitzing.
Best Bets for the Weekend
It looks like some wicked weather is heading our way to put a damper on the 4th of July plans, but the weekend is looking sunny and bone dry. Summertime porgy fishing is upon us, and there is not a bad spot on the Island for them. They moved in pretty thick in western Long Island now, and the North Shore and East End are still loaded with them. Clam and worms over structure is really all you need to put some fish in the bucket.
Fluke slowed down in some areas, while others picked up quite well. Many of the biggest fish seem to be coming from the East End, but the Metro and South Shore areas are definitely holding their own. Squid and spearing continue to be the bait of choice.
The striper fishing has moved toward mostly an early morning/night bite. While the South Shore and East End have lit up in the past few weeks, this storm coming may change everything. The captains I spoke to are thinking it may move the bait around quite a bit, so who knows what Saturday will bring. If things stay relatively consistent, there will be big bass under bunker pods to chase on the South Shore and 50 pounders all over out East.
Offshore is just about as good as it can be. There are sharks everywhere and the tuna bite is heating up, so try and get on a boat if you can for some awesome fishing. Whatever you choose to do this holiday weekend, stay safe and have fun.