North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
While we said goodbye to the fluke season earlier this week, Captain Stu of Northport Charters out of Northport reported quite a few shorts caught as bycatch on the porgy rigs recently. When the flounder were not in the way, scup were slamming their clam baits and filled plenty of buckets. Captain Mark of the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson also saw excellent bottom fishing in a wide range of locations and depths despite things slowing down a bit at the end of last week during a stretch of warmer weather. The most productive drops seemed to occur between 25-40 feet for scup, and they also hit a few limits of sea bass in anywhere from 20-110 feet. With the heavy winds this week, the fleet is taking it day by day whether or not they will sail.
Although the bass bite has not picked up considerably as of yet, Carmine of Campsite Sport Shop in Huntington Station said anglers are starting to see some signs of life out on the structure at night. Fresh or livelined bunker are most likely to get the fish biting, and we should definitely start to see some better activity as the temperatures stay consistently on the cooler side. Between the peanut bunker in the harbors and adult bunker outside, bluefish can be just about anywhere. Guys are finding them blitzing the bait schools or on structure where they can be jigged. John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park also said we are seeing the first signs of albies in the areas of Smithtown Bay, Callahan’s, and east of Cranes Neck. Deadly dicks and small tins are doing the trick for those who can keep up with them.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Robert from Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport said that the majority of the reefs out in the ocean are inundated with porgy and sea bass now that most of fluke have moved out. Before the season closed, keeper fluke were starting to become hard to find, but Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside received reports over the weekend from the east end of the AB Reef with keepers from 5.5-7.5 lbs and 13 miles southeast of Debs Inlet in about 80 feet of water where some huge fluke of 8.5 and 9 lbs were taken along with a limit of sea bass and a few blowfish to round out the trip. Closer to home, Bill at Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville said a handful of blowfish and kingfish recently moved into the bay.
Bill also told us that bass are slowly trickling into the area around the bridges and boat channels and are hitting swimmers and surface poppers. As of now, these are just schoolie sized fish, but it is only a matter of time before some bigger ones make an appearance. The picture perfect seas over the weekend made for some great offshore opportunities as anglers were really able to travel out to the fruitful grounds. Bay Park Fishing Station received reports of a great evening albacore bite at the 100 square on the chunk and troll with fish to 65 lbs. The Hudson Canyon was also productive this week with longfin to 45 lbs, bigeyes to 150 lbs, and plenty of yellowfins in the 50-80 lb range. While there are a few albies to be found around Shinnecock, those heading about 20 miles out ran into a mix of little tunny and bonito. Captain Tony of the Fox Sea Lady sailed out of Center Moriches late last week out to the Coimbra and south to Maiden Creek where they were able to hook up with some mahi and tuna on livelined peanut bunker.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
While we did not hear much in the way of fluke over the weekend in western Long Island, other bottom fishing numbers were much better. Josh at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx reported a decent bite in the waters off Rye and around the Execution Lighthouse. Floyd Bennett Field, the Marine Parkway Bridge stanchions, the Roundhouse, and the Rockaway Reef were also very productive areas, according to Stretch from Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn. He said that a new body of fish moved in after this last new moon, and although there are some small fish around, plenty are of a good keeper size.
Striper action has not taken off yet, but a few were taken in the rip line off the Breezy Point jetty at night on live eels. Bluefish are definitely more reliable with 15-23 pounders jigged up at the Mud Buoy, and with the wall to wall peanut bunker in the western Sound, monster blues inundated that area as well. John at Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle also said there are albies pushing bait like crazy from Hempstead Bay up to Norwalk.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Captain Tony of the Fox Sea Lady sailed out of Montauk to the Frisbee area at the end of the weekend for their last taste of keeper fluke as well as a mix of sea bass and porgy, but the wind picked up sooner than anticipated making for a rough end of the trip. Every rock pile on the south side of the Light is holding sea bass of 5-6 lbs and red hot porgy action, according to Captain Lou at Star Island Marina of Montauk. Captain Mike of the Prime Time 3 out of Orient also hit a nice bottom bite locally with full limits on many trips. To the west in the Sound, Bill from Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck reported good bottom fishing from Hortons to Mattituck.
Action has quieted a bit on the East End for the big fish as we are in the middle of the moon phases, but Courtney at Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk did say there are a few monster blues around with a handful of bass biting live eels at night. The Prime Time 3 is seeing similar action at Plum Gut with a ton of bluefish and a few bass in the mix. Bill from Jamesport also said anglers have hit false albies and bonito in the Sound from Wading River to Hortons.
Best Bets for the Weekend
This weekend is not looking like a good time to go boating with seas up to 7 feet in the ocean, and the Sound, harbors, and bays are even seeing wave heights forecasted to be larger than usual. If you can get out safely and comfortably, bottom fishing is the best bet for consistent action. Clam baits on shallow structure can produce bucket loads of porgy with sea bass mixed in at some of the deeper areas. The North Shore and western Long Island would probably be the easiest places to try this weekend as I cannot imagine many people battling those seas to bottom fish the ocean. If you prefer to stay on dry land, you might get lucky with some scup from the beaches and piers. Early in the morning or later in the evening give you the best shots, but midday is always a possibility.
We are coming up on a full moon on Sunday, but tough conditions may deter most from heading out for stripers. Anglers may be more apt to stick to the South Shore or East End surf this weekend instead. Live eels, bucktails, darters, and needlefish are all good choices if you are trying for bass at night time. Live bunker or fresh chunks, poppers, and tins can be productive during daylight hours, but there is a good chance of bluefish intercepting the hook. Although, if there are monsters around, I don’t think many would be complaining about a bent rod.