North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
The winds kept a lot of boats tied up this week, but there were fish to be had for those that found a window to get out there. Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport said the air temperatures this week were much colder than the water, so it is definitely not too cold yet for the fish. Blackfishing is really good around 50-60 feet for the boats that braved the cold and rain. John from Terminal Tackle in Kings Park added that the sea bass are still mixing in, but it looks like they are starting to make their way out of the area.
Carmine at Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station said there are a few bunker pods still lingering, and bass can occasionally be found harassing them. The bluefishing, however, seems to be very slow at this point. The beaches around Northport have seen schoolie activity when the sun is out warming the water’s edge, but you may have to find a creek or outflow for a bite, according to Mark at Cow Harbor. John from Terminal Tackle reported a pretty good improvement is striper action out at the Triangle with fish stacked and anglers able to jig them up. The catches consist mainly of shorts, but a few keepers have been around. John also said that bass are hanging around the mouth of the Nissequogue chasing bait. Rubber shads and bucktails caught a few on the outgoing tides.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Blackfishing is solid on the South Shore with limits being taken and keepers to 9 lbs on the rock piles west of Jones Inlet, according to Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside. Either side of the tide is producing good catches with white crabs and KO rigs. Mike from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said the Moriches and Shinnecock wreck fishing is very good with nice tog, excellent sea bass, and a few cod starting to show up in the mix.
Bill at Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville reported good bass and blue action between Fire Island and Sheepshead Bay over the weekend. Quality stripers in the 20 lb range are still chasing the schools of bunker around, and anglers have been able to jig for them. Captain Joe of the Jib VI out of Captree said they are exclusively running morning trips for the rest of their season. Before the weather made conditions a bit tough, they were consistently hitting larger bass in the Inlet using clam chum. The captain would also keep his eye out for any birds working where they could find a short burst of jig fishing. Ronnie of Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport reported huge blues of 12-17 lbs chasing the bait around above the bass. Mike at White Water said surf anglers fishing off the eastern South Shore beaches did well this week for bass as there are bunker pods running on the outside.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
Josh at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx said there is a lot of tog action around western Long Island, but there are a lot more shorts than keepers coming aboard. The party boats are doing fairly well with pool fish in the 6-7 lb range. Rye Playland, Execution Lighthouse, the Stamford Reef, and smaller pieces of structure all are good places holding decent sized fish.
John from Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochell reported bass feeding underneath the birds from Hempstead to the Throgsneck. Diamond jigs are catching the majority of these fish. Stripers are also working with the birds around the Breezy Point Jetty, but Frank at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said the bite is spotty day to day. The fish that are there are just keepers and have been caught while trolling bunker spoons and using live bunker if anglers can find any. Frank added that nice blues are in the mix, but they might be gone after the recent cold snap.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck said not many reports made it back to the shop this week with the winds blowing so hard, but for those able to get out Plum Island and north of Fishers by Race Rock produced nice hauls of tog. Steve from Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold agreed saying blackfishing is basically the whole story on the East End. Rocky Point and Hortons Point in the Sound produced nice fish over the weekend, and he said anglers still have a shot to get out with some nicer weather on the way. Block Island by the Southwest Ledge was also very productive for blackfish this week, according to Tonya at Westlake Marina in Montauk. Captain Bob of Rainbow Charters out of Orient said their recent trips for blackfish around the Islands have been very good, but their season is coming to end pretty soon. Anglers can look forward to getting out on the cod boats in the next few weeks.
The bass reports have been very slow on the East End this week, but Paul at Paulie’s Bait & Tackle in Montauk reported a few small bass off the town beaches. The wind made conditions pretty brutal at the beginning of the week, and he hadn’t heard of any boats having luck with stripers in the Rips.
Best Bets for the Weekend
With another windy week in the books, we can look forward to a nice chop on the water this weekend. It doesn’t look like a washout though, so you should be able to find some ways to wet a line. Blackfishing is pretty outstanding on most of the usual structure around the Island, but you will have to fish deeper than in past weeks. A combination of crab and KO rigs will get the tog biting, and there is still a chance at a handful of leftover sea bass. Depending on where you decide to anchor up, there is piece in that area where you can find nice fish.
Bass on the other hand will be much tougher. South Shore bunker pods are a good bet as they have produced fairly consistently over the past few weeks, but I am hoping the cold weather won’t drive the bait away. Jigging at the Triangle on the North Shore and chasing birds around western Long Island are also other options. East End fishing is very slow with mostly small fish, but it is always worth a shot if you are out that way. The key is be in the right place at the right time as the fishing is very spotty all around.