Long Island Fishing Report - July 9, 2015

North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Bottom fishing made a big turnaround on the North Shore this week with porgy flooding in, but the fluke slowing down. Captain Stu of Northport Charters out of Britannia Marina had to switch gears this week and hit the porgy grounds as keeper fluke started to become scarce. Eatons Neck is a hot spot for 2- to 3-pound scup as well as beautiful out of season sea bass, and everyone is looking forward to a great season opener next week. Captain Mark of the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson is still fishing for fluke, but the short to keeper ratio tapered over the weekend. This means that they crew will be shifting to porgy and sea bass next week. Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport said that the anglers with the higher skill set and knowledge of fluke are still landing larger fish. They have moved to deeper water of about 40 to 50 feet, and rock to sand transition points are good places to look for them. He also added that porgy migrated in like an army recently after weeks of mediocre numbers, and fisherman are hitting easy limits using squid, clam, and worms. 20 to 30 feet of water seems to be the sweet spot for daytime fishing, according to John from Terminal Tackle in Kings Park, but the scup move tight to the rocky beaches, such as Sunken Meadow and Callahan’s, late in the evening.

Mark at Cow Harbor reported a pick to up in the bass activity this week because of a huge new influx of larger sand eels to the area. The shop has never seen so many small bass of 6 pounds all over the place, and even though they are not keepers, the fly guys are having a blast with them from the beach. For the larger 20 pound stripers, anglers are fishing mainly live eels in 50 to 55 feet of water as there is a lack of bunker on the North Shore. John from Terminal Tackle also said that a bunch of small bluefish moved in, and guys are having fun losing tackle up and down the beaches.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

Good fluke numbers continue on the South Shore, but keepers have proven hard to come by. Rich from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said the short to keeper ratio is about 10:1 in Shinnecock Bay, but it is not uncommon to catch dozens of shorts in an outing. Most of the action has been on bucktails and Gulp. It is a similar story toward the west with Robert at Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport saying the summer flounder fishing is good in the bay with plenty of short action to keep everyone occupied, but the ocean activity is inconsistent

Striper fishing is becoming a bit more sporadic on the South Shore, but there are definitely some nice fish to be had. To the east, Rich at White Water reported good fishing during both daytime and nighttime hours. Those fishing when the sun is out are using clam and clam chum inside Shinnecock Bay and off the beaches in the surf. Eels are killing them after dark with plenty of big fish over 35 pounds hitting the decks.

The offshore bite continues to be very productive, and many times you do not need to head far. Makos are prevalent just 5 miles off the beach with much of the action coming from water depths of 130 to 150 feet. 30 to 50 pound Bluefin tuna with a few giants to 120 pounds were caught 15 to 25 miles off Shinnecock Inlet while trolling. Joe from Trophy Tackle in West Babylon also said the waters off Fire Island are prolific for thresher sharks.

Metro Long Island Fishing Report

John from Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle reported big 17 to 18 inch porgy moving onto all of the local rock piles, but chum is definitely key. If you are not chumming, you are not catching them. Red hot scup action can be found at Prospect, Sands, & Matinecock Points, Rye Playland, Pea Island, and Huckleberry Island, according to John at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx. It was not an action packed week for fluke, but the Ambrose Channel, Coney Island Channel, Tin Can Grounds, Jamaica Bay, and all of the Points saw fish hit the decks.

Jerry at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said anglers making the trip to Sandy Hook for bass are getting rewarded with huge fish to take with them, but things are a bit quieter closer to home. However, Hempstead Harbor and Manhasset had a good showing of both bass and blues this week. Chompers are hitting top water tins, plugs, and swimmers while 34 to 40 inch stripers are lingering underneath them.

East End/North Fork Fishing Report

Ben at Star Island Marina in Montauk said the fluke fishing remains so-so with good days and mediocre days. There was, however, a decent bite over the weekend off the Town beaches. Bill from Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck reported better action east of Gardiners and in the Sound off Roanoke, the Pipeline, and Buoy 5. North Fork porgy fishing is heating up at Plum Gut and off the Motel with loads of beautiful 20 to 23 inch throwback sea bass in the mix. Montauk scup is also excellent where ever there is rocky structure from the north side around to the south side beaches.

Steve at Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold said the bass fishing at the Gut and Race continues to be good, but the big news is Montauk finally lighting up. Tonya from Westlake Marina in Montauk said the action is unbelievable with loads of high 30 pound to low 40 pound fish making their way back to the shops. There are even a few 50’s in the mix. Drifting eels and trolling wire with umbrella rigs are accounting for the majority of catches.

Boats heading offshore from the East End are hitting great numbers of fish. Bluefin of 30 to 70 pounds are as close as 12 miles and were taken on the troll and chunks with plenty of mako around also. Bill at Jamesport also said there are even mahi with yellowfin and Bluefin tuna two miles east of the Dip.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Fluke fishing seems to be fading out as they move out to deeper water now that the hot weather is finally hitting us, but we can look forward to awesome scup action and the opening of sea bass in the middle of next week. You can definitely still pull keeper summer flounder from the water, but you need to be diligent and patient. Fish a bit deeper than you may have in past weeks, and look for transition areas and drop-offs. Porgy and sea bass are hanging out together in relatively shallow water over most hard structure around the Island, and although you will still have to throw back any sea bass you catch, it is a good time to hone in your equipment to have it ready for next week.

The stripers that were causing a commotion on the South Shore bunker schools for the past few weeks finally headed east and are wreaking havoc out there now. If you can make the trip out that way, it is definitely worth it. Eels are a good bait of choice no matter where or what time of day you are fishing. Live bunker or chunks and trolling will also get the job done, but the big bass seem to have switched their food preference.

Offshore fishing is hammering, and you should get out there if you can. With tuna and sharks coming in so close, you may not even have to go far to find the action. Traditional shark methods work just fine for the makos, blues, and threshers, but I even heard of mako caught while trolling for tuna this week. Sea conditions, winds, and weather all look good for the weekend making for a perfect time to get out on the water.