North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
We are coming up to the home stretch on the fishing front for the year, but despite a slow bite at times there are a few opportunities to keep you coming back for more. John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park reported lots of short tog for much of the North Shore forcing anglers to wait it out for a handful of keepers. There is no magic depth as far as anyone can tell as the fishing at 20 feet seems to be on par with that at 80 feet. Straggler scup and sea bass are coming up on the blackfish grounds, but as a whole they have found their way out of local waters. Captain Mark of the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson said the bottom fishing in his neck of the woods is poor overall with the boat striking out with tog on many of the shallow and deep spots that were fruitful in recent weeks. While that is not normal for this time of year, Captain Mark looked through past log books and noticed a pattern of slow fishing this late into the season when there is a long stretch of unseasonably warm water temperatures. The fleet will try again this weekend, but might be packing things up soon if the fishing does not improve.
North Shore bass fishing is by no means red hot, but there are fish around for those making an honest effort at finding them. A number of stripers can be jigged in structure 40 to 60 feet deep where they will stack up during the middle of the tide, according to John at Terminal Tackle. Anglers are finding the fish bite during a moving tide, but tend to scatter at slack. The usual spots, such as Buoy 15, the Triangle, Cranes Neck, and the Middle Grounds, have all given up a decent quantity of stripers. A few bluefish are still mixing in, but they are definitely thinning out as we get later into the season. Mark from Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport also reported some bass on the beaches in the early morning or late in the evening, but their pattern is not readily apparent. Time of night or tide seem to make no difference so anglers are just fishing their favorite rocky shores with swimming plugs and bucktails hoping to get lucky. If the bassing is not working out, squid have been a bit more dependable in Huntington Harbor, Centerport, the Nissequogue, Stony Brook, and Port Jeff with jigging under the lights working as the best method.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Anglers do not seem to be taking initiative to do much in the way of South Shore bottom fishing, but the party boats are still running offshore for those interested in going. Joe at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon reported good sea bass numbers out in 180 feet of water, and Rich from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays added that those boats are seeing good bycatch of ling, cod, and huge porgy weighing in at well over 4 lbs. According to the scant reports I received this week, blackfishing is also decent at the local wrecks and reefs for those few making it out.
Despite bass fishing seemingly on the downswing, Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside did receive a few reports this past week from anglers putting in the work. Bunker spoons are getting it done during the day southwest of Debs Inlet in 45 feet of water for stripers to 20 pounds, but those getting out at night are being rewarded also. The shop weighed in a huge 48.5 pound bass taken at night while eeling in Reynold’s Channel. To the east, striper fishing is both great and terrible depending on your location, according to Rich from White Water. On any given day one area will be covered with fish to 25 pounds, another spot will be littered with schoolies, and just down the beach will be a dead zone. The key is to keep moving if you are not having any luck in your current location.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
With the water temperatures steadily dropping, John at Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle is hoping the bigger tog will start to get hungry as it is still just the small ones biting for now in the western Sound. Stretch from Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn said the bottom fishing is better at the local wrecks and reefs in his area, and the water is still warm enough that anglers are managing to get tog from the beach. There was no word on scup and sea bass this week so they should be officially all offshore now.
Vinny from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said the schools of bunker around from Staten Island to Great Kills is keeping decent bass and big bluefish in the area. Trolling spoons will get them when the sun is up, but Stretch at Stella Maris said eels at night will do the trick from Jamaica Bay to the Outerbridge.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Not much has changed on the East End bottom front in recent weeks as anglers on the North Fork are still getting sea bass off Mattituck in about 100 feet of water south of the potato barge and tog closer to shore from Hortons east to Orient, according to Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck. On the south side, Courtney from Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk said most boats are heading out to the Southwest Ledge for a good mix of blackfish, sea bass, and cod.
While there is some beach action for bass in the Sound, most of the activity is coming from Montauk. Paul from Paulie’s Bait & Tackle in Montauk said there are a good amount of small stripers around, but very few players working for them. Bucktailing under the Light was spectacular this week with a large quantity of little guys, and needlefish and plugs also worked well along the south side.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The weather and seas look relatively favorable for the weekend, although I would stick to a larger boat if you head out into the ocean as there could be a decent swell heading into Sunday. Blackfishing is the only bottom fishing game in town if you want to stay inshore, but the offshore sea bass bite is definitely worth it if you are willing to take the trip. Many tog will be on the smaller side, but grinding it out will pay off for the slammers. Heading out to deeper water will yield you not only good sea bass, but also cod, ling, and even some dinner plate porgies.
You really need to put in the time for stripers as they are very hit or miss now. Boats can jig on structure or troll bunker spoons, but covering ground is key if you stick to the beach. Bass are around, you just need to do some traveling to find them. While much of the schools consist of schoolie to teen sized fish, big cows are around for the lucky or talented. Eels at night along the South Shore or western Long Island give you the best odds at connecting with the behemoths. However you choose to fish this weekend just make the best of it as the cold, nearly unfishable weather is fast approaching, and we will be stuck at home on the couch in no time.