North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Tough conditions made for periods of difficult fishing this week, but there were opportunities during breaks in the weather to put fish in the cooler. John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park reported seeing more tog than he has seen in a while, but the keepers are MIA. Anglers putting in the time can come home with a few larger blackfish, but the keeper ratio is as bad as less than ten percent at times. On the sea bass front, Carmine from Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station said that while the bite is definitely slowing down, fish are still hitting on some of the deeper rocky spots.
Jigging for striped bass is not an everyday occurrence and is not very consistent, but John at Terminal Tackle said the guys finding the fish are having a good time with it. Night fishing is almost exclusively a beach bite with a decent amount of bass being caught with keepers included. While there are bluefish crashing the surface every once in a while, the schools are definitely thinning as the fish move out for the season.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside received reports from guys fishing rugged conditions over the weekend who managed solid numbers of blackfish to 8 pounds from the local reefs. White crabs got them biting, and the early incoming tide saw the best activity. There is also ample opportunity for offshore sea bass and cod fishing at the 30 to 40 mile wrecks, according to Joe at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon.
Anglers continued to see great striper numbers across the South Shore this week despite a few days of unfishable weathers. Captain Joe of the Jib VI out of Captree said he lost a few trips recently to foul circumstances, but managed limits on most trips when they were actually able to get out. The boat fished almost exclusively in and around Fire Island Inlet where they saw great action never interrupted by pesky bluefish. The choppers have moved to the west where Bay Park got reports of some big ones caught on trolled bunker spoons in 45 feet of water off the Rockaways. Rich from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said the local beach bite around Shinnecock is just okay with the better fishing coming from several miles to the west. Surfcasters hammered stripers this week from Moriches Inlet to 10 miles west on Smith Point with some days seeing upwards of 30 or more fish. Guys had to put some work in running up and down the beach to keep up with the schools.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
John at Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle said there is not much action in the western Sound as things are really chilling up at this point, but there is still good blackfish action to the south. Frank from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said the shore spots for tog are worn out from being hit so hard this season, but the boats saw an uptick in activity with the deeper waters starting to cool down.
Although very few reports made it back to the shop this week, Josh at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx did hear of a few bass caught up by the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges. Frank from Bernie’s said stripers lit up in the middle of last week with poppers and spoons catching a wide range of sizes from schoolies to bass up to 46 inches at Breezy Point, Coney Island Flats, and the Verrazano Bridge. Activity has subsided a little bit since then, but Frank said the schools around Fire Island should make their way to Brooklyn within a few days’ time. The action is mainly at the surface at first light until they start to disperse about an hour and a half later. Trolling spoons and umbrella rigs is the best way to catch them, but surface poppers work as well if they are continually breaking the surface.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Locally, the blackfish bite continues in the Sound from Hortons Point out to Orient Point, according to Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck. Sea bass on the other hand are out further so more traveling is involved. Anglers found them this week at deep structure on the north side of Plum Island and around Fishers Island. Chase of Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk reported that the Southwest Ledge gave up plenty of tog, and cod and sea bass were abundant at the CIA Grounds for those sailing from the South Fork.
East End striper fishing is on the sluggish side as there is not much action on either shore right now. Steve from Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold said there were a few schoolies caught on the beach around Greenport and Orient, but it is nothing to write home about. Montauk is seeing a similar situation, according to Paul at Paulie’s Bait & Tackle in Montauk, but there are very few anglers out there trying. Those putting in the effort saw a handful of small fish on both the north and south side and at Camp Hero.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Nice mild temperatures will make an appearance for Thursday allowing anglers without kitchen duties to sneak out before the turkey is served. If you only have a few hours to spare, I recommend spending that time on a South Shore beach looking for striped bass. I can bet that you will definitely be sharing the surf, but hopefully you can also share in being thankful for a beautiful day of fishing. The warmer temperatures will stick around for Friday, but then turn colder for the weekend. Bass should continue to stick around for a bit as the water temperature is not dropping as fast at the air temperature, although they seem to be starting to migrate toward the west so you may have to change up where you have been targeting. Throw plugs and bucktails from the beach or troll spoons if you are on the boat.
Hitting the bottom grounds can definitely pay off also. The best tog fishing seems to be on the South Shore with the East and West Ends coming in second place. Wrecks and reefs with white or green crabs should yield you some nice keepers even if they are not there in huge numbers as shorts are still much more prevalent. However, this colder weather may be the kick start we need to see some better feeding. If you want to find some sea bass, offshore is the place to be. You should not have a problem packing out several for the dinner table along with a few keeper cod. However you choose to spend your holiday weekend, make sure it is a safe and happy one.