North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
We felt a significant shift toward fall this week with a big temperature drop, but porgy fishing remains red hot. The bite just keeps getting better, according to John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park, who said they can be found everywhere from inside the harbors caught from docks and piers, off any of the North Shore’s rocky beaches, and out on deeper structure with sea bass mixed in. He added that the best time for sea bass is at slack tide when the porgy start slowing down. Captain Mark of the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson is seeing excellent bottom fishing trips locally as well as when the boat travels to different grounds in varying depths from 20 to 100 feet. The bite is almost exclusively on clams with worms only accounting for fish on the smaller side. Cool nights are dropping water temperatures very quickly making the fluke really think about heading out of the area. There are a few around for the end of the season with live snappers being the ticket to your best chances of hooking up with one.
Carmine at Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station reported very spotty bass fishing with only a few bites at night on chunks. Bluefish on the other hand are much more active with 3 to 12 pound fish being jigged and trolled out in the Triangle. Mark from Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport added that anglers are finding them racing through Northport Harbor, but there is no real pattern to where they will be at a certain time. Snappers are more abundant as of late with a good number caught around the area docks.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Fluke fishing is winding down in many areas of the South Shore, but there are a few good spots left for those still searching for the flatties. Bill at Combs Bait & Tackle in Amityville said the San Diego wreck southeast of the Fire Island Inlet is producing some hold over fish in 80 to 90 feet of water, but porgy are starting to take over what used to be the fluke grounds. Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside received a report of anglers fishing outside of Debs Inlet for a good quantity of short fluke, but they did manage four keepers for the day, two of which weighed in at 7 pound 4 ounce and 6 pound 5 ounce, as well as a handful of sea bass on spearing and Gulp. Bert at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays also told us that guys fishing Shinnecock Bay are still doing pretty well with the summer flounder.
Shinnecock is also a good spot for anglers in search of false albacore and bass. The albies are running inside and outside of the Inlet and can be found at various depths as evidenced by the few that were caught on bucktails at the deep water fluke grounds. The Inlet is producing stripers at night on bucktails and eels, and some can also be caught during the day while drifting live spot. Joe at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon told us that the weather kicked up over the weekend which meant that the offshore scene remained relatively untouched, but this weekend is looking great so the shop is looking forward to some good reports.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
Not only are the quantities of porgy huge, but so are the sizes of them. John at Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle reported 17 to 21 inch scup on local structure, such as Huckleberry Island, Pea Island, and Execution Lighthouse. If you prefer to fish toward the south end, the Marine Parkway Bridge, Round House, and Gravesend Bay are all areas holding a good amount of bottom fish, according to Stretch from Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn. There was not much mention of fluke this week, but Vinny at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn heard of a few hitting the decks from the Ambrose Channel.
Monster bluefish are becoming the norm in western Long Island, especially with bunker pods as far as the eye can see, according to John at Hudson Park. A few stripers even woke up this week with an on and off bite behind the Execution Lighthouse with fish to 30 pounds early in the morning. Stretch at Stella Maris said blues are hitting jigs at the Tin Can Grounds, Rockaway Reef, and off Sandy Hook, and Bernie’s Fishing Tackle weighed in a gorilla of 24 pounds on Tuesday. Weakfish are also starting to show up in some of the creeks and channels.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck reported continued bottom fishing opportunities in the Sound for porgy and sea bass from Horton Point out to Orient, and a mixture of scup, small weakfish, blowfish, and kingfish scattered throughout the Peconic. South Fork fishing is even better with all bottom fishing doing really well. Lou at Star Island Marina in Montauk said porgy to 2.5 pounds and sea bass can be found from the Elbow to the North Grounds, and a nice fluke bite is holding up on the south side so anglers do not have to travel out to Cartwright to find them. However, Courtney from Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk did mention that Cartwright is filled with plenty of sea bass and monster fluke for those making the trip. Captain Tony of the Fox Sea Lady out of Montauk fished south of the Point this week and saw excellent sea bass action for fish to 6 pounds.
Steve of Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold reported a few bass caught along with jumbo blues at the Gut and Race predominantly on the outgoing tide. It was a relatively similar story off Montauk this week with the action picking up a bit coming off the new moon. Captain Tony landed a number of bass on umbrellas, but eels are starting to produce as well with huge blues mixed in. Bonito and albies started to make their way up to the south side of Plum Island, according to Bill at Jamesport, and snappers and crabs are prevalent throughout the creeks of the Peconic.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The conditions for the weekend are looking excellent through late Saturday with seas of one foot or less all around making for a good time to get out on the water. Bottom fishing is getting even better with these cooler days seemingly making the scup and sea bass ferocious. Any shore will be a good bet as fishing in the Sound, East End, and out west continues to get better, and porgy are finally starting to move onto South Shore structure. Not many guys are going after fluke at this point, but this is the last weekend you will be able to take any home so try to get out there if you can as there are still quality fish around. The cooler temperatures have pushed them off or made them sluggish, but a live snapper could be enticing enough to make them strike. You might be able to find some deep off the South Shore, but the south side of Montauk and out to Cartwright would be the better bet.
With the calendar heading toward fall and cooler weather in the forecast, you can expect the big stripers to be feeding heavily. They should be waking up on all shores, but Montauk will be the place to be for the fall run. There are already noticeably larger fish being caught as we speak. Head out there for a trip and I’m sure you will not be disappointed. With monster blues and hordes of bait around, the action will be nothing short of stellar in the coming weeks. False albacore and bonita should be more prevalent as well which always makes for a fun time.