North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
The North Shore fluke bite continues to be strong with lots of bait in the area, including squid, spearing, mantis shrimp, and millions of sandeels. As usually is the case, keepers do not hit the decks on every drop. You have to pick through tons of shorts, but there are plenty of big fish out there for the taking. John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park said it looks like a new body of fish moved into the area, and Spro bucktails with Gulp are responsible for a large portion of the catches. Throughout Smithtown Bay from Stony Brook to Asharoken there are excellent areas to drift in 10 to 45 feet of water. Porgy are finally starting to make a nice appearance after a very uneventful few weeks, according to Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport. Depth does not seem to matter with these fish, and there are a good number of locations to find pockets of them. Cranes Neck, Eatons Neck, Callahans Beach off the golf course, and Crab Meadow are just a few places where anglers are filling buckets, but most mussel beds and rock piles will be holding scup as well. Big sea bass continue to mix in heavily at the fluke and porgy spots, and we are hoping that bite keeps going until the season finally opens next month.
Bass fishing has not been very consistent lately, but there are fish around if you know where to put in your time. Mark at Cow Harbor said a handful have been caught from the surf usually early in the morning, and the light tackle and fly guys are having the most fun with the 6 to 7 pounders. The occasional daytime blitz is not unheard of with 5 to 6 pound blues in the mix. Scoping the water for birds working is the key to finding the bait schools, and throwing topwater lures and tins is the best method to catch the predators feeding underneath them. John from Terminal Tackle added that for those looking for fish a little larger, anglers got it done chunking and trolling umbrella rigs and parachutes at the Triangle for stripers in the mid-20’s.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Captain Joe of the Jib VI out of Captree said his daytime fluke trips are turning out okay with a pretty solid pick of fish, but shorts vastly outnumber the keepers. On a typical outing the boat averages around 120 fish of which 10 to 15 will be legal size. The pool winner usually weighs in anywhere from 4 to 6.5 pounds. Bill from Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville said the bay saw good fishing this week, but the ocean bite, namely in the waters south of both the Fire Island and Jones Inlet in 60 to 65 feet of water, really picked up recently. South of Shinnecock had a few moments of glory also, according to Bryce at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays. Fishing is not in the normal shallow water, but instead anglers have had to find the fluke out at 65 to 70 feet of water. Those sticking to the Bay are also doing well when conditions are good, but they again need to weed through a lot of small fish.
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported a group went out over the weekend and fished live bunker southeast of Jones Inlet which resulted in three nice bass weighing between 35 and 41 pounds. Bill at Combs even heard of stripers to 50 pounds caught under the bunker schools east of Fire Island Inlet with other quality fish from 33 to 44 pounds. The best action is from first light to around 8 in the morning, and you may have to search around to different bait pods to find the ones that have bass on them. Stripers to the east are a bit unpredictable, according to Bryce at White Water, but drifting eels at night and clam chumming during the day in the Inlet and Bay are producing a solid number of fish. Bluefish continue to be consistent with fish weighing either 1 to 2 pounds or 10 to 12 pounds.
Offshore shark fishing is also starting to get red hot for mako and thresher, especially out to 25 to 30 fathoms.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
There were not an overwhelming number of fluke reports coming from western Long Island this week; however, John at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx reported decent fishing around the Stepping Stone Lighthouse and at Fort Totten. John also said that the porgy bite has been pretty good, especially up in Oyster Bay and Bayville, and sandworms are working best for them. A number of decent sized porgy were caught around the Marine Parkway Bridge, according to Stretch at Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn who said it is not a slaughter, but the action is decent. Vinny from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn also said that one of the local party boats has been finding a seemingly unlimited supply of big scup at night.
John from Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle said the fish seemed to have disappeared from his area or at least stopped feeding. Guys have been going out and marking fish, but nothing is hitting the decks. Those heading out a bit further south are having better luck. Vinny at Bernie’s said a number of methods, including trolling, bait, jigs, and lures, are working off Breezy Point on the ocean side for anglers fishing from both boats and shore. Stretch added that the bunker schools in the Ambrose Channel are also holding a handful of bass.
A few threshers were caught about 3 to 4 miles off Riis Park at the Rockaway Reef on bunker schools, and Stella Maris wanted to remind everyone that their shark tournament is coming up this Saturday with the captain’s meeting on Friday.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck said that the Peconic is like the dead sea now with only some short fluke and a few porgy around. The Sound looks to have some more action with fluke on Roanoke Shoal at Buoy 5 and scup off Goldsmith’s Inlet from both the boat and beach. The summer flounder bite is also pretty consistent in Gardiners Bay, according to Steve from Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold, but the fishing off Montauk continues to be inconsistent and not what it should be for this time of year. Paul at Paulie’s Bait & Tackle in Montauk also said that the porgy have moved out of Cherry Harbor and went around the Point to the south side where guys throwing bait are catching them off the beaches behind Town.
Star Island Marina in Montauk reported that the local rips, including Pollock Rip and the Elbow, saw some decent bass action for those trolling umbrella rigs and parachutes. Swim shads are the lure of choice for many anglers fishing the Gut and Race for stripers and blues, according to Steve at Wego. On the surf front, Paul from Paulie’s Tackle said things have been spotty, but fish in the teens and low 20’s did hit the beach this week. However, the shop also weighed in larger fish of 36.10 pounds and 51.68 pounds. Plugs, needlefish, and bucktails are all getting the job done.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Bottom fishing is a great way to go for the weekend as there are many options no matter which shore you fish from. The best place for fluke right now is the North Shore as the sheer quantity of fish puts you at good odds that you will bring home dinner. With the added benefit of good porgy numbers, there is no lack of activity up north. The fishing is also easily accessible since everything seems to be biting shallow so even if you just have a kayak or are staying on dry land, you can get in on the action. Do not discount the other areas of the Island because all corners have their honeyholes. The deep water ocean bite on the South Shore and many of the bays are holding plenty of fish. The action will be there, but you may not end up with anything large enough for the table.
The most consistent bass action is still on the South Shore bunker schools, although we are looking at some rough seas this weekend so sticking to the bays or other protected area might be a good idea. Trolling has been very effective, especially for the larger open water stripers. However, bucktails, plugs, tins, eels, and bunker all work in their respective locations. Work bucktails and eels throughout the inlets and bays at night, liveline bunker during the day, and throw topwater lures and tins under working birds. Bluefish can still be a nuisance, but if you can get away from them there is a possibility of stellar fishing.