North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Action on the North Shore remains relatively unchanged from last week, according to John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park, with tog continuing to be the go-to bottom species. 8 to 9 pound blackfish were regularly weighed in this week among the hordes of shorts anglers had to pick through, and a few sea bass made an appearance during many of these trips. Carmine from Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station said the party boats are doing well at the tog grounds with green and Asian crabs while clams did the trick with sea bass and any remaining scup in the area.
Guys were able to chase flocks of birds along the beaches for the bass feeding underneath them from both the boat and beach. With most fish caught being on the small side, it takes time and work to be able to put a keeper on the scale. Boaters have more opportunities for stripers as they can chase the hungry schools wherever they may go as well as giving jigging a try out in deeper waters. The Triangle is a good piece of structure to let your diamond jigs down, and there are plenty of bluefish to play with as well. John from Terminal Tackle did say the one piece of different news this week is that squid moved into the local area in full force with the Nissequogue and Stony Brook, Northport, and Huntington Harbors being prime locations.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Bryce at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays reported good bottom fishing this week with blackfish being taken at local wrecks and sea bass doing better offshore. He added that the offshore bite is good enough that guys should consider hitting the party boats if they have wrapped their boat up for the season already. Joe from Trophy Tackle in West Babylon said the mid-Island wrecks seemed a bit slow this week on the tog front, but to the west Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reported consistent action of limits to 6 pounds caught at the AB Reef.
Captain Joe of the Jib VI out of Captree sailed this week mainly for striped bass in and around Fire Island Inlet, and the action was unbelievable. Saturday’s trip saw over 100 fish with limits taken for everyone on board; and while the trips since have not been as stellar, the action was fairly steady with 15 to 20 quality bass seen on each trip. Bryce from White Water said the South Shore striper bite is unchanged from last week in that anglers must be in the right place at the right time as the beach is not paved with fish, but rather they seem to be moving in large concentrations. The key to a good day of fishing is to keep moving if you are not getting any hits in your current location. Surfcasters are working small plugs and bucktails or top water lures if they come across good blitz action. The back of Shinnecock is seeing less activity, but the bass are consistently larger when they do bite. This is mainly for the boaters who are using live spot during the day and live eels or big plugs at night. In the ocean, the area between Fire Island and Jones Inlet is seeing a seemingly endless supply of bluefish, according to Joe at Trophy Tackle.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
Sea bass and porgy seem to finally be out of the local Western Long Island waters as reports for them were scarce this week, but tog action was much more action packed in the area. John at Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle reported good numbers of fish on all of the pieces in the western Sound, but anglers are continuing to really have to sort through those shorts. Stretch from Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn said the story was much the same in his neck of the woods with good fishing found at the South Reef and the New Bottom wreck from here to New Jersey. Finding exact coordinates for the keepers are tough as everyone seems to have their favorite secret honey-hole so work needs to be put in to find quality tog.
In the Sound, it is mainly schoolie action coming from Hempstead, according to John at Hudson Park, with chunks at night providing the best action. Bass fishing seems to be better toward the south as Vinny from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said that for the last week or so they are seeing bunker all over Staten Island and Great Kills making for solid striper action. For anglers fishing at night, Stretch at Stella Maris said the Breezy Point Jetty, Marine Parkway Bridge, and inside the channel are good places to be with live eels.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
There is not much happening in the Peconic at this point in the year, but Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck reported good bottom fishing on the Sound side. Blackfish are concentrated locally from Horton’s Point east out to Orient, but you have to travel out to deeper water of about 90 to 100 feet for sea bass. Many boats are taking the trip out to Fishers Island for tog, according to Chris from Westlake Marina in Montauk, and south of Block Island is seeing good sea bass numbers. Anglers are finding both species hanging around Cartwright and the Southwest Ledge as well as a few scup lingering here and there.
Steve at Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold received reports of guys fishing the Sound beaches with chunks for big bluefish and schoolie bass, but I did not hear of similar action being seen on the South Fork. It seems the action is much the same as we have seen in past weeks with fish for those putting in the time or who are lucky enough to be in the right place when fish are passing by.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Heavy winds and rough sea conditions will make boating a bit difficult this weekend, especially on Saturday where the forecast is showing 4 to 7 feet in the ocean and 3 to 5 feet in the Sound. However, larger boats probably won’t have as much of a problem sailing, and things should be calming down at least a little bit for Sunday. For anyone looking to bottom fish, tog is definitely the way to go these days for the best chance of seeing some action. You can find fish off of every shore so it is really just your preference where you like to sail from. Western Long Island reported the greatest occurrence of shorts, but anywhere you go will likely not be a bail job of just keepers. Putting in some time will definitely pay off as there are some great fish out there. Some pieces on the North Shore and off the East End can give you a nice mix of blackfish, sea bass, and maybe even a few porgy, but the sea bass seem to have moved offshore on the south side. The bottom action is definitely good enough to hit a party or charter boat if yours is put away for the season.
Bass fishing is tough as we have not seen any slam dunk days all season. However, the South Shore or lower Metro area gives you the best opportunity to beach a nice fish or boat a 30 pounder picked from the bunker schools. I have mainly just heard of schoolie or small keeper action coming from the remainder of the Island, but that does not mean there are not a few quality fish in the mix. It is all a matter of how much time you can put in to hone in on those bigger ones. If you use bait, try focusing in the inlets or any bridges using clam bellies or live bunker or spot during the day and live eels at night. Boats also have the advantage of trolling and jigging out in deeper waters if conditions allow. Saturday will definitely be on the colder side, but overall the weather will be favorably mild making it worth taking advantage of before the cold really sets in.