Long Island Fishing Report | September 11, 2014

North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Captain Stu of Northport Charters out of Northport reported excellent bottom fishing when conditioned allowed this week. There was a strong showing of sea bass and dinner plate porgy, but the rough weekend weather kept them at the dock on a few trips. Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport said the general rule of fishing for them right now is to drift in about 20 feet of water inside the harbors in rocky areas or in 40 to 50 feet of water outside the harbors.

The fluke bite is ultra slow at this point, but John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park said there are some big fish in deep water if you have the patience to find them. He said the key is to sink live snapper down to the bottom for a last chance at quality summer flounder.

Captain Mark of the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson said the moon tides this week took over, and they had to fish around the strong tides. With the currents not making things easy, they have been mixing more blues into the trips than usual. Captain Mark is just waiting for these winds to stop so the fishing becomes more favorable. Captain Stu of Northport Charters said he is hoping to scope out the jigging grounds this weekend. With plenty of blues in the area and a few bass possibly mixing in, he is just waiting for conditions to cooperate to see if they can pull some fish off the bottom. John at Terminal Tackle said things quieted down by them on the bluefish front, but there are plenty of bunker around so he is confident that the fishing will rebound soon. It seems like the fish might have moved a bit west since Mark at Cow Harbor reported that the blues are the name of the game right now, especially with the cooler weather. There is plenty of bait in the harbors for them to choose from, including bunker, spearing, snappers, and needlefish, and high tide saw the most action. Stripers are still sporadic, and the water needs to cool down a bit more before things become more consistent.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

With just a little over a week to bring home a last minute fluke, there are still some fish to be had on the South Shore. Bill at Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville said that in and around the inlets really picked up this week. East of Jones, west of Debs, and the middle of Fire Island Inlet are holding solid fluke to 9 pounds, and Cholera has the upper hand offshore. Bill added that spearing and squid strips are working better than bucktails inshore, and peruvians and whole squid are key in the ocean. Robert from Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport added that although the action is winding down, Reynolds Channel saw decent fishing this week, and a number of fish moved through the inlet out into the ocean. Captain Joe of the Jib VI out of Captree reported a decent sea bass, porgy, and triggerfish bite where each drift was bringing up a fair number of keepers. Fluke mixed in nicely on the right tides with an average fish weighing in 4 pounds, but they saw a few larger ones of 7.5 pounds. Shinnecock Bay had a lot of fluke action this week, but sifting through shorts is becoming a chore. Bryce at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said the larger fluke have moved into the ocean out at about 75 feet.

Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported bluefish and some striper action on surface plugs around the bunker and spearing schools in the ocean and Jones Inlet. Robert at Sea Isle Tackle said small bass are beginning to show up, but the action is not consistent yet. Gigantic blues are out in good numbers around Shinnecock, according to Bryce at White Water. Striper fishing is slow, but beginning to turn on in the Inlet with a few small fish around.

Mark at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon said Yellowfin are hitting chunks and jigs and Bigeye are being caught on the troll at Fish Tales and out at the Canyons. Hudson Canyon has less but bigger fish right now.

We are finally starting to get some reports of false albacore in the area. Bryce at White Water report red hot fishing in and around Shinnecock Inlet. He also wanted to add that the shop is holding a 2014 Fall Kickoff this Saturday, September 13th. It promises to be a day of fun, food, prizes and giveaways, rod and reel demos, and plenty of store specials. The shop opens at 5 am to kick off the day.

Metro Long Island Fishing Report

Stretch at Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn reported good porgy action around the bridges and other structure, but they will begin to move out soon once cooler weather hits the area. In the meantime, John at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx said locally the scup are very shallow in water 5 to 10 feet deep around Pea Island, Huckleberry Island, Mamaroneck, and Rye. For the sea bass, John from Hudson Park Bait and Tackle in New Rochelle said there is a near constant bite at Centre Island Reef off Bayville and around Lloyd Harbor on an outgoing tide.

While the fluke are beginning to migrate out of the area, Stretch at Stella Maris said a few keepers were pulled deep out of the middle of Ambrose Channel. There was also a pick of small keepers to 22 inches in the western Sound.

John at Hudson Park reported windy conditions that made fishing difficult for boaters. However, for those that did get out blues were busting through the bunker schools from Greenwich, CT down through the Throgsneck and Whitestone Bridges. John said this is the most bunker he has ever seen so the action should continue for a while. Choppers to 16 pounds were caught behind Execution Lighthouse, according to John at Jack’s Bait, and Stretch from Stella Maris said anglers were able to catch a few anchored up at the Mud Buoy with a bucket of chum or by driving around looking for birds. He also reported a few bass in the area were caught at night while drifting live eels off the Breezy Point Jetty, the Tin Can Grounds, and around the Marine Parkway Bridge.

East End Long Island Fishing Report

It is the same old story in the Peconic this week with porgy and weakfish at all the usual spots and crab and snapper throughout the creeks, according to Bill at Jamesport Bait and Tackle in Mattituck. He also mentioned that the sea bass bite is beginning to pick up out at Orient, but the fluke are pretty nonexistent. For a mix of fluke and sea bass, Courtney at Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk reported a good bite at Frisbees and Cartwright.

Courtney also told us that the striper fishing on the boats is just okay with nothing phenomenal at the moment, but she is looking forward to it picking up soon. The beach on the other hand began to see some more action this week. Paul at Paulie’s Bait & Tackle in Montauk said the fishing has really turned on with the east wind blowing. Bluefish are blitzing off the sand beaches on an incoming tide, and a few bass are mixed in. There aren’t huge fish, but there are plenty of them. He said the first blow in September during a full moon is when things typically start turning on. Bill at Jamesport said the beach fishing on the Sound is slow with an occasional bass or blue picked up, and for those actually hitting fish, Goldsmith’s Inlet is seeing the most action right now.

Star Island Marina in Montauk held their 4th Annual White Water Sportfish Challenge over the weekend, and Kevin from the shop said the tuna fishing was outrageous with the largest Bigeye weighing in at 265 pounds and plenty of other quality fish hitting the docks.

Best Bets for the Weekend

The weekend weather looks a bit cooler with a chance of rain for Saturday. If the winds hold up, it might keep some boats at the dock; but whether you can get the boat out or are stuck on the beach, there are fish to be had all around the Island. Porgy continue to be fishable in the shallows in the same places kids are finding snappers and are also out in deeper water where decent sea bass can be in the mix. There are spots on all sides where the bottom fishing is nice so you won’t have to think too hard about where to go.

The fluke are a bit trickier on the other hand. On this second to last weekend of the season, you will have to head to deep water in search for a keeper. Good, fresh baits work well, but live baits may just give you a better edge. There are small pockets off every shore holding a few fish, but you will have to put your time in. The South Shore seems to have the largest range of spots to try at the moment, and many of the fish have moved out to the ocean.

Bluefish are just about everywhere chasing bait around, and the bass are starting to creep into the mix. As the weather starts to cool off, more and more stripers will be migrating into the area. Search around for schools of bunker this weekend, and there’s a good chance you will find predator fish underneath them.