Long Island Fishing Report - July 23, 2015

North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

North Shore anglers got to see a very nice mixed bag of bottom fish this week with porgy, sea bass, and fluke all making a good showing. The phenomenal porgy fishing cannot be beat with clam chum being preferable accompanying the heavily scented clam bait over worms, according to Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport. Scup are prevalent in most depths, and while sea bass are commonly mixing in with them, they seem to prefer 40-50 feet of water. There is no shortage of short fluke throughout the mid-Sound, but John from Terminal Tackle in Kings Park said a higher percentage of keepers are in front of the Nissequogue launch ramp and east to Mount Sinai. Picking the right spot can land you all three species as evident by Carmine at Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station when he hit the Eatons Neck Lighthouse with some buddies over the weekend and went home with fluke to 24 inches, sea bass to 3 lbs, and a load of 2.5 lb porgy.

John at Terminal Tackle reported bunker schools throughout the Smithtown Bay drop-offs with big blues and a few stripers to 25 lbs underneath them, but the fishing is undependable. Anglers also continue to hit a few bass here and there on chunks out in deep water of 50-60 feet, and if you wait long enough small blues and schoolies will pop up in front of the beaches.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Bill at Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville said that over the weekend the shop weighed in an enormous doormat of 12.5 lbs measuring 32 inches that came from Jones Inlet at the top of the tide using a fluke rig tipped with squid and spearing. He added that there are a number of other quality keepers in the 5-7 lb range hitting the decks from in front of the Coast Guard Station, around the 3rd Wantagh Bridge, and out in the ocean. Further to west, Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside received reports of plenty of 4 lb flatties on the incoming in Reynold’s Channel, and bottom fishing at McCallister’s is action packed with large quantities of scup, sea bass to 4.5 lbs, and the oddball fluke on occasion. The ocean bite picked up this week on the eastern South Shore, according to Mike at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays, with good fluke and sea bass fishing on open bottom and local wrecks.

Very few bass reports made it back to the shops this week. Anglers have seen a decrease in action in the eastern bays and inlets, but there is a somewhat steady pick of fish if you put the time in. A few stragglers are possible in many of the South Shore back bays further west also, but it looks like things will be slow until the fall. Inshore bluefin and shark fishing continue to be productive, and anglers hitting the Coimbra and further south landed sharks, tuna, and blue marlin to 150 lbs.

Metro Long Island Fishing Report

Jumbo porgy and sea bass are filling buckets in western Long Island with the structure around many of the Islands, including Pea and Huckleberry, seeing a lot of action, according to John at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx. Stretch from Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn added that guys are hammering bottom fish at the Rockaway Reef also. Fluking is good off of Breezy Point and Riis Park as well as throughout the channel around the Marine Parkway Bridge. John at Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle said that the next two weeks are when the big summer flounder start showing up in his area so anglers should continue to hit the water while the fishing is good.

Vinny from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn told us that the boats are having better luck than the surf guys at the moment with nice catches of stripers off New Jersey and Rockaway, however, the beach is giving up a few bass on occasion. Spoons and live bunker are responsible for many of the fish in the 30-50 lb range throughout the Ambrose Channel and off Sandy Hook. Big blues are prevalent in the western Sound chasing bait and are being caught on chunks, snagged bunker, and plugs with a handful of bass underneath them.

East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report

Bottom fishing on the East End is spot on right now, especially with the added bonus of an open black sea bass season. The Town beaches on the south side are a fantastic place for porgy as they are stacked on the rocks and accessible from shore, according to Paul at Paulie’s Tackle in Montauk. Bill from Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck reported that the Sound is equally action packed with scup from Horton’s Point to East Marion, and anglers also found some around Buoys 20, 22, and 30 in the Peconic. Sea bass and fluke seem to be located on the same pieces of structure making for plenty of action at these spots. For those fishing off the South Fork, the activity at Frisbees and the Radar Tower is exceptional, while Horton’s is a go-to spot on the North Fork. With fishing also respectable in Gardiners Bay and around Fishers Island, there is no shortage of places for summer flounder and sea bass.

David from Westlake Marina in Montauk said the bass fishing off the Point and in the Rips has slowed from the initial flood of fish that we saw in the past few weeks, but there continues to be a steady flow of fishing. Drifting eels remains the method that works best for the big fish; however, the big girls seem to be scarcer as of late. Live eels are also doing the job for those fishing at Horton’s, according to Steve at Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold, and Paul from Paulie’s said there are good and bad days on the beach, but surfcasters are picking away at a few fish at night.

The offshore bite continues to be productive with good shark action out at 12-15 miles and a decent number of yellowfin at the Fishtails. Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk held their annual shark tag and release tournament which saw 62 sharks conventionally tagged and 3 fitted with GPS satellite tags, including a 175 lb mako, 300 lb thresher, and 100 lb smooth hammerhead.

Best Bets for the Weekend

We are slowly transitioning into the dreaded doldrums where stripers and fluke tend to be more infrequent, but luckily for us we have other fisheries that will continue to produce well into late summer. There seems to be a never ending supply of porgy on all shores making for very accessible angling, and the relative ease of this type of fishing is great to get the kids out before school starts back up. You can also go a bit deeper to supplement your catch with sea bass for the added challenge and exceptional table fare. Short fluke are plentiful and will give you steady action, but keepers are a little harder to come by. Find deep pockets of cooler water in the bays and inlets or you may have some better luck in the ocean. Also, keep on the lookout for the first signs of good weakfish numbers entering our waters. The fishing starts getting good in August and September so it is only a matter of time before the tiderunners begin hitting.

Bass fishing is a tough one in many of your local areas as the water is just getting too warm; however, deep structure is holding a few in every location. The East End is not the most pleasurable place for fisherman right now between the crowds and traffic, but that is where the majority of the action is. If you want to bring a striper home, head out east early to get on the water before anyone else. You could also stick to the beach and fish at night for a hit or miss bite. The fish seem to find live eels most appealing, but will hit trolled lures from the boat and bucktails and plugs from shore.