North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
The conditions this week were not very conducive to get out on the water as most Long Islanders had snow shovels in their hands rather than fishing poles. Nevertheless, a few reports made it back to the shops before the worst of the weather hit. John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park said that herring fishing has been a challenge as of late with the North Shore bays and harbors iced over and now at least a foot of snow to contend with. He did hear of a few trout caught at White’s Pool over the weekend, but it will be tough to get there now with all the snow in the way.
Carmine of Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station jokingly said “with authority” that there are no fish around. When I asked the shops if they had heard anything about ice fishing, they said the lakes are frozen over, but anglers haven’t had the nerve to get out there and drill holes since we had a bit of a thaw at the beginning of last week and the ice might not be stable enough. Carmine did say if you wanted to travel, upstate New York and Pennsylvania have been hammering on the ice with some really great fishing happening.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
The South Shore has been very slow recently as weather shut down the cod boats for the better part of a week. However, the offshore fishing out in deep water was excellent toward the later part of last week with plenty of cod hitting the rails and filling coolers. The fish are not huge tipping the scales at around 12 lbs, but there were plenty to go around keeping poles bent and anglers happy. With everyone just about done digging out and conditions looking good boats were sailing on Thursday, but I will have to wait until next week to see how they did.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
Ralphie at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said that where there is open water, guys are still going after the herring. Canarsie Pier, Coney Island Pier, and Magnolia Pier were all producing a handful of fish as of last week.
Richie of Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn reported slow cod fishing with conditions not allowing boats off the docks, but the AB Reef was seeing a lot of action last week. Many of the cod hitting the rails were shorts, but enough keepers were caught to make the trips worth it.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
It was a similar story on the East End with shops and docks snowed in most of this week, but charter boats did head to the cod grounds with good results before the storm hit. The trips are starting to see nice mixed bag action to keep things interesting. Catches have included pool fish of cod to 15 pounds and pollock to 18 pounds with a handful of ling and bergalls also coming over the rails.
Best Bets for the Weekend
This weekend looks like another doozy with more snow in the forecast for Friday and late Sunday and winds blowing to 35 mph through Saturday. Between the snow and frozen water, access is very limited for herring and trout, but the freshwater ice might be solid enough fish on now.
Cod would be the better option for a more guaranteed hook-up. Seas are a bit rough on Saturday, but it looks like it dies down for Sunday. With the other species mixed in, I would say a charter is the way to go if you’re able to find an open boat. The South Shore is seeing plenty of action, but bigger fish can be found out East.