Long Island, New York Fishing Report - December 3, 2015

North Shore Long Island Fishing Report

John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park reported a downhill trend on the tautog front with not even many shorts keeping rods bent as of late. With the prospects of better fishing greatly diminishing for the near future, many guys are packing up for the season and taking their boats out of the water. Captain Mark of the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson echoed this frustration after an uneventful weekend at the blackfish grounds sent the fleet packing for the remainder of the season, a bit earlier than usual. Fares saw a few small fish hit the decks, but not many were large enough for the buckets. All in all, it looks like the books are closed for the 2015 North Shore bottom fishing season.

Striped bass are still biting jigs out on structure during a running tide, according to John from Terminal Tackle, and they should stick around for a little while longer with the fresh influx of new bait in the Sound. On Friday of last week, seemingly out of nowhere the North Shore became overrun with herring from Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor to Mount Sinai as well as out to the mid-Sound. With some shad in the mix also, the schools of herring should be enticing enough to keep bass from leaving the warm waters at least for a few more weeks. While the squid numbers are definitely dwindling from what we were seeing in past reports, they are still obtainable in most harbors at night under the lights.

South Shore Long Island Fishing Report

South Shore bottom fishing continues to be going well with Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside receiving a report from one of their customers that fished over the weekend. Despite less than favorable conditions, they managed 20 keeper tog on white crabs at a local reef. Similar reports came from many of the other favored blackfish structure as you head east down the coast. Those heading out to the 30- to 40-mile wrecks saw red hot sea bass action with a good amount of cod and big porgy in the mix, according to Joe at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon.

Rich from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays said the bass fishing is beginning to wane, but the activity continued to be very good with the still warm water temperatures. The beaches a bit to the west of the shop around Moriches Inlet and Smith Point saw good numbers of small fish, but also nicer 15-18 pounders in the mix. Rich added that the Ponquogue Bridge saw its first taste of action in several weeks this past Saturday, but as quickly as they showed up was as quickly as they were gone indicating the schools of bass are moving down the beach at a fast pace.

Metro Long Island Fishing Report

Boo at Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn said there continues to be solid tog fishing at the local wrecks with enough action on the party boats to keep things interesting. However, with many of the more shallow areas being hit so hard, you may have to head out to deeper structure to find better qualities and quantities of blackfish as it seems they are retreating from their normal hang outs.

The middle of last week saw awesome bass action with a steady pick of nice fish in the early morning on top water, according to Frank at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn. The full moon really brought them out to play around Riis Park, Kingsborough, the Breezy Point Jetty, Belt Parkway, and the 69th Street Pier, and guys from both the boats and surf were able to get their hands on fish. Things began to quiet down as we headed into the weekend, and then the action began to change to late afternoon just before sunset. Anglers were throwing a multitude of different baits and artificials, such as poppers, swimming plugs, bunker, clams, and tins, and the bass seemed to want to eat it all. If there were keepers around they were just barely legal size, but guys just enjoyed getting out there to wet a line. Very few bluefish remain in the area, including those behemoths we saw in recent weeks.

East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report

I did not hear of any bass reports coming from the East End this week, but bottom fishing is still holding strong on both Forks. Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle in Mattituck said there are plenty of blackfish biting in the Sound as well as further out on the north side of Plum Island and up by Fishers Island. Anglers wanting to travel even further have found fertile grounds up in Connecticut and Rhode Island; however, the deep water sea bass fishing on the North Fork is relatively barren according to those that tried this week. Boats sailing from Montauk hit the Southwest Ledge and Cartwright for good tog action, according to Chris at Westlake Marina in Montauk, and nice bottom activity was found at the CIA Grounds and south of Block Island in 80 to 100 feet of water for sea bass and cod.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Light winds and easy seas this weekend will make sailing a breeze so the blackfish grounds should be easily accessible. I would forego the North Shore, but the rest of the Island has promising opportunities at various pieces of structure. Local wrecks and reefs should be a sure thing, but further destinations will provide you with ample chances to fill your bucket as well. The sea bass fishing is rather good also, but you will likely not find those anywhere local. Rather check out the deeper offshore wrecks for a shot at a nice mixed bag of cod, sea bass, and porgy.

Bass fishing is getting tough as we head toward closing out this year, but warm water temperatures are allowing them to stick around in decent numbers. North Shore jigging can get you a few, especially if they start chasing the herring schools, but you will have to put the time in to really see what the bass are doing. There is plenty of bait on the South Shore, although sometimes it is tough to reach the fish chasing them from the beach. Regardless, surfcasting still offers a good chance at some late season action. Glass the water looking for birds diving and head in that direction. Straggler fish are possible for this time of year, and with the bass season on the verge of ending, you should give it a good effort while you can.