North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Two more seasons closed in the past few days leaving only a handful of fisheries left worth trying for. Reports are getting very tough to come by so please bear with me as we trudge through the off-season together. While blackfishing remained scarce over the last several weeks, Vinny at Campsite Sports Shop in Huntington Station said some guys got out over the weekend in seemingly spring-like conditions for some tog on the popular pieces of structure in 50 to 80 feet of water. While it was not even close to home run fishing, the weather alone made it worth getting out there. The only other game in town is herring, according to John from Terminal Tackle in Kings Park. Large congregations can be found all over the North Shore from every bay and harbor out to the middle of the Sound, but there were no bass on them for anglers looking to hook up with a late season linesider. A minimal number of squid remain in Huntington Harbor, but that is likely to fizz out any day now.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside received numerous reports of anglers taking advantage of a beautiful weekend and trying for some last minute tog. The efforts payed off for many as some limits were caught with nice slobs to 12.4 pounds in the mix. The waters from Hempstead Reef to west of Debs Inlet were hammering along on white crabs for many of these catches. Offshore bottom fishing at the 30 to 40 mile wrecks continues to be good and should remain that way for the remainder of the year, according to Joe at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon. Once we are no longer allowed to target sea bass and scup, cod fishing will begin heating up even more as larger individuals move into the area. However, for the time behind, anglers are enjoying their hauls of quality sea bass to 5 pounds, big porgy, cod, ling, and even a few blues. Bryce from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays also added that the Hudson Canyon continues to see solid action with the bite being really good at times. Bigeyes are still around, but it is shifting over to heavier numbers of bluefin with even a few Giants in the mix.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
Stretch at Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn said the blackfish season closed beautifully with plenty of fish filling the buckets over the weekend, and he added that the activity was so good that they could probably get another month out of this fishery if it were to remain open. Of what anglers are able to target, Vinny from Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said the herring bite is the best they have ever seen as there are fish just about everywhere you look. Glen Island and Hudson Park is loaded with them, according to John at Jack’s Bait & Tackle in the Bronx, and Stretch from Stella Maris reported countless schools throughout Sheepshead Bay and around Coney Island Pier and Canarsie Pier.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
Bottom fishing is where everyone is keeping their focus on the East End. The tog season finished up strong around Plum Island, Fishers Island, and south of Block Island with many anglers taking home a good quantity of fish. Mike at Star Island Marina in Montauk said the sea bass and cod fishing remains on fire south of Block Island, and Chase from Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk said similar things about Coxes Ledge. The Jenglo out of Orient Point captained by Mike of the Prime Time 3 ventured out several days at the end of last week through the weekend hitting the fertile bottom fishing grounds in their neck of the woods. Every trip either saw limits and near limits of cod to 10 pounds and sea bass to 3.5 pounds with a lot of doubles action seen throughout.
Best Bets for the Weekend
We will not be as lucky on the weather front this weekend as we were last weekend, and the sea conditions are not helping the situation. A 4 to 7 foot swell on the ocean and high winds lead me to believe that sailing for cod and sea bass is going to be put on hold until things simmer down. As the sea bass and porgy seasons are rapidly coming to a close, I know many anglers will be anxious to get out there as much as possible before the end of the month. You can contact charter boats on the East End and South Shore to see how their sailing schedule will be affected so you can plan accordingly. The fishing is great so it is definitely worth getting out there while you can to fill the freezer.
Herring is a great alternative as the sheer numbers give you ample opportunity to have some fun. Any shore that you like to frequent will likely have fish splashing at the surface. I was even duck hunting in a South Shore bay over the weekend and our boat was surrounded with fish making me wish I had a pole and sabiki rigs on board. From the boat or shore, it is very foreseeable to be inundated with plenty of herring if you choose to try for them. We will be taking a break next week to enjoy the holiday so I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and we will be back the following week giving you new updates that we hear.