North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Despite the blowing winds over the weekend that grounded many boats, a few fishing reports did make it back to the shops this week. North Shore bottom fishing for porgy and sea bass continues to be outstanding, according to John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park. It seems things turned back on after the wind subsided, and the fish are hitting on clams and sandworms at Sunken Meadow, Callahans, Cranes Neck, and Eatons Neck. Mark from Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport added that Northport Harbor is seeing nice porgy, and a recent crab hatch has brought some of the bigger ones back in close. With countless dime-sized crabs swimming around, blackfish have also travelled in toward shore and are being caught as bycatch two and a half weeks before their season opener. The fluke bite is just about over, but a few keepers were found in 20-30 feet of water inside the harbor on sandy shoal areas.
Mark at Cow Harbor reported a lot of activity on the bluefish front. The bay is stacked with bait, including bunker, spearing, and snappers, and the big blues are all over them. The fish seem to be gorging before the new moon arrives next week. Chunks and plugs are getting the job done well, but livelining will work at times also. Mark said it is important to just get out there this week as the fish are very active, and you have to be there to catch them. Mark from Terminal Tackle said a few bass are beginning to be caught off the beaches at night on eels and plugs, but the fishing is not consistent as of yet. There were even a few reports of albies starting to pop up on the North Shore also.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Robert at Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport said the fluke are leaving the bays, but there are still a few in the ocean to be had in 40-90 feet of water. Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported an abundance of keeper fluke to 8.4 lbs in the waters 100 feet south of the Tankers caught on spearing and squid, and a few more smaller fish were found at the AB Reef. Cholera saw some big summer flounder in the 7-10 lb range on the structure all caught on peruvians, according to Bill at Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville.
The western South Shore is not seeing much bass action, according to Robert at Sea Isle, but Mike at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said they are starting to show up toward the east in Shinnecock Inlet and around the bridge.
We also got word from Mike at White Water that the albies are out in full force inside and outside Shinnecock Inlet, in the ocean, and in the bay. You need to have patience and keep your eyes open as this is mainly based on sight fishing, and they may be up one minute and down the next. The offshore bite is still going strong with Joe at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon saying that fishing was great out at Hudson Canyon during the weather break earlier this week when anglers were actually able to get out.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
John at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx said there is a lot of porgy action right now in the area off the CBS Tower and New Rochelle, and Stretch from Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn reported an excellent bite at Floyd Bennett Field, the Marine Parkway Bridge, and the Tin Can Grounds southwest of the jetty. The Rockaway Reef is also holding some nice scup and sea bass, according to Vinny at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn. Vinny also added that while the fluke bite has greatly diminished, the ocean side is holding a few keepers in the Ambrose Channel, off Coney Island, and at the Breezy Point Jetty.
Bluefish were lingering behind the Execution Lighthouse for another week, according to John at Jack’s Bait. Stretch at Stella Maris said birds bombing the water are a good indicator of blues feeding underneath, and there are even some albies mixing in the blitzes. A few anglers had some luck at the Roundhouse and the Breezy Point Jetty hooking up with stripers at night while drifting worms and eels.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Captain Bob of Rainbow Charters out of Orient reported an interesting mixed bag in the Peconic with plenty of big porgy, scattered blowfish, and a few kingfish that showed up this week. Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck said a good concentration of blowfish were found at Nassau Point and around Robins Island. On the Sound side, Bill reported good scup and sea bass action at Mattituck Inlet and the Firing Range. Captain Mike of the Prime Time 3 out of Orient reported tremendous bottom fishing with nice hauls of fish to 3.5 lbs around Fishers Island.
The fluke bite is just so-so at this point, but Tonya at Westlake Marina in Montauk said the shop weighed in an 11.25 lb summer flounder taken on the south side this week.
Tonya also told us that the bass fishing has been tough, but a few smaller than usual fish in the 20-30 lb range were brought in using eels or while trolling off the Point. Kevin at Star Island Marina in Montauk said live bait, such as spot, are also a good tactic to try for a keeper bass. Captain Mike of the Prime Time 3 said there are plenty of blues out at Plum Gut and the Race, but the boat only picked up a handful of stripers on each trip. The bite on the Sound beaches is getting a bit better with bass and blues hitting at Hortons and Goldsmith’s Inlet.
Albies are popping up all over the East End, and both light tackle and fly guys are hitting them. The tuna fishing between Fish Tails and the Dip at night has been insane, according to Kevin at Star Island. Tonya at Westlake said on the few fishable days we had this week when the weather actually cooperated, anglers were able to bring Bigeye to 235 lbs and boatfuls of Yellowfin to the docks.
Best Bets for the Weekend
This is unfortunately another week of questionable weather as Edouard travels up north bringing decent surf swells with it. According to the surf report, the ocean should die down as the weekend approaches hopefully allowing the boats to sail. Bottom fishing is a sure bet for another weekend as there are strong reports from all around the Island. I’ve said it for the last several weeks, but you really can’t go wrong with porgy, and the sea bass bite will continue to pick up. We can even start looking forward to blackfish very soon also.
If you are on the hunt for a last minute fluke, it is time to get out of the bays and head to the ocean. The South Shore has the most consistent action right now on the reefs, and spearing, squid, and peruvian will all land the big one. Summer flounder to 10 lbs are still out there, but you have to go deep and search long to find them.
Bluefish are making their presence known around the Island, and you just need to find one of the many pods of bait around to get a chance at one of these big predators. Bass continue to be more scarce, but they are starting to make their way back west. Each week more and more stripers enter the inlets and bays and are just waiting for you to throw something out that may entice them to strike. Eels are a safe choice and seem to be working for the anglers getting out there, but livelined baits and plugs may just get the results you are looking for.