Long Island – New York Fishing Report – June 9, 2016

Big blues have been present across the Island making it, at times, difficult to get a shot at the stripers you might target. Same thing goes for the ever-present sea robins which seem to be overrunning the bottom and beating fluke and even porgies to the hook in bay and near-shore Long Island Sound waters. When the blues back off, anglers have been able to tempt some large bass on the West End and action seems to be slowly coming to life on North Shore and East End forks as well. There are still some monster scup biting well and some pretty solid doormats being caught across the Island. The offshore season is now rounding into form with a couple of big tuna and sharks coughed –up on the East End over the past week.

At Hudson Park B&T, John said the fishing scene hasn’t changed much over the past week. That’s a good thing as skippers out of New Rochelle have been pounding big bluefish, stripers and porgies. The bass are falling for trolled spoons and bunker chunks, the porgies are taking clam or squid, and the bluefish will bite everything from bait to tins. Expect the trolling action with bass to swing more and more over to bunker chunks and heads over then next week or two.

Out of Stella Maris Bait And Tackle, Mike reports that there have been some big stripers picked up on live-lined bunker. Fluke fishing in the area has been up and down with keepers weighing in at up to 8 pounds. A good day has been about 15 keepers per crew but some days produced much less. There have been a lot of blues, both ‘gators and cocktails, in the surrounding Brooklyn waters as well.

The striper fishing from the Oceanside area has been tricky, according to Rob from Bay Park Fishing Station. The most action had been produced using spoons in the early season but the bass have now switched over to following schools of big bunker so you’ll want to go with cut or live bait. On the bay side, anglers are catching some fluke, though the bite has been on or off there as well. Bluefish have been everywhere, tearing up the water by the bridges and on the bay side. They have hit on all tides. Any poppers, tins or bait will bring results.

Carmine from Campsite Sports Shop has seen steady fluke action off of Eaton’s Neck on both squid and spearing as well as hi-low rigs baited with Gulp! There have been a lot of shorts taken out of the Port Jeff waters. The best bite has been at first or last light with decent stripers chasing live bunker on the tale ends of either tide. Anglers looking for more active fishing can find big porgies in the surrounding Huntington waters. Target these with clam baits on hi-low rigs.

At Cow Harbor Bait And Tackle, Evan reported steady fluke action by Crab Meadows and Coast Guard Station. Bass remain strong on spoons for now but the better action should switch over to chunking soon. Cold Spring Harbor has been the hot spot with schoolie bass biting well in the back bay. Dinner-plate sized porgies have also found their way into these waters and are hitting better every day.

John from Terminal Tackle has fluke setting up in front of Sunken Meadow along with schoolie bass. All have been caught mainly from the shore with the bass favoring bunker chunks and bucktails. The fluke have been a mix of keepers and shorts, with toss-backs still outnumbering the 18-inch fish. Porgies, holding more off the points, have been a good way to fill the cooler.

Out in Freeport, Robert from Sea Isle Tackle spoke striper action heating up fast outside of Jones Inlet. He also noted fast fluke action in the bay although there are a lot of throw-backs. You’ll need to cull through a lot of throw-backs here but the keepers which are mixed in tend to be worth the work. Like most of Long Island, there are tons of bluefish all over and ranging widely in size. Shark fishing has also shown some life this past week as Robert has seen a couple caught off of the Freeport area.

Brendan from Captree Bait and Tackle has seen some impressive fluke action with fish up to 3.5-pounds being taken off the piers and 8.5 pounder’s in the inlet. There have been stripers and bluefish grabbing hooks in the inlet also, hitting fresh bunker the best. The first blue claw crabs have began to make their way through the Captree waters so get some bunker or chicken baits and grab rig up those crab traps.

On board the Jib VI this week, Capt. Joe has been making trips targeting fluke and blues in the local Captree waters. The fluke action has been improving both in size and quantity of late with some fish topping the 5-pound mark. They have been crushing bluefish on the evening trips with lots of fish in the 3- to 6-pound range.

At Warrens in Aquebogue, Ed has seen a slow, gradual increase of surf casting in the area. Anglers have been having more success with fluke and porgies, though the porgies have been better than the rest. Moriches and Shinnicock inlets have been holding some blues, too, and the shore bite is starting to build.

Further east at Wego, Steve reports that bass fishing has been hot with some areas giving up big fish. On the bay side and in the harbors, there are still a ton of shoolies around. Out in Plum Gut and The Race, there have been some heavy-shoulderd linesiders to 30 pounds. There are still scup around and biting well near Cherry Harbor. For fluke, most anglers are still heading to Gardeners Island and returning with decent results.

In Hampton Bays at White Water Outfitters, Bryce noted that there is plenty of action to keep anglers busy. Bluefish are all over and mixed in with bigger stripers. Both are hitting well but the bass seem less competitive untill the sun goes down. There has been a mix of keeper and short bass but many fish are weighing in at between 25 and 28 pounds. The fluke bite has been getting better both on the bay and ocean side. The most keepers are now coming from outside in water depths of 70 to 90 feet. In Peconic Bay, there is still a mix of a few weaks, blues, bass and scup. Offshore action kicked in this past week also with a couple makos and bluefin tuna hauled hitting the decks.

Chase from Montauk Marine Basin is still seeing strong results for anglers that target bass and blues on the troll. Porgy action continues to hold up well at Cherry Harbor and that action is likely to continue for another week or two at least. South of Montauk , Chase reports there was a 270-pound mako and a 250-pound tuna weighed this week so the offshore season is getting underway.

Gone Fishing Marina has seen a strong start on the offshore side also. David reported that Alex Forden hooked into a nice tuna trolling spreaders at between 30 and 35 miles from the harbor. The fish was dressed before being brought ashore in order to fit it in the cooler and it still weighed in 115-pounds. There was also a 9.9-pound fluke taken on the south side of Montauk, although the fluke bite has been a little slow in the area. On the other hand, porgy fishing has been smoking hot. The pork chops have not set up on the point like past years. Rather they are west and on the back side of Gardiners Island. The big blues have been around following the big bunker schools with fish pushing 7-10 pounds.

Mike from Paulies in Montauk, reports of a few small bass around between Montauk Point and Montauk Village. There have been some 8- to 10-pound bluefish around the north side, too. There were a few big fluke decked this week, and there is still a ton of bait around. As for porgies, many have weighed between 1.5 and 3 pounds. The bass and blues have been jumping on bucktails and both live and chunked bunker.

At Westlake Marina last Saturday, Tonya had Gary Stevens catching and releasing a 9.3-pound fluke. There was also an 11.4-pound flattie caught and some big bluefish in the 15- to 17-pound class. The fluke fishing in the area has only been decent so far in terms of action but there are a good number of doormats being caught. There has been some bass around as well with a few keepers in the 20-pound range.

Finally at River Bay Outfitters, Paul has seen some nice bluefish and a couple bass being taken off of Jones Beach and inside the inlet. The best tide has been outgoing in the evening. These fish have been attacking tins, plugs and all fresh or frozen baits.

The freshwater fishing has remained hot according to Paul. Largemouth bass finally came into season this past Saturday and John from the Long Island Fly-Rodders had several up to about 15 inches on Peconic River this week. The bigmouths have been patrolling shadow lines in the mornings and evenings. The bluegills and pickerel were also in an agreeable mood this week.

Fishing Forecast for Long Island – New York

Fluke fishing seems to be improving every day in places where it hasn’t already been producing big fish. As the offshore action begins to get going it is always worth a trip out to catch a big shark or tuna. Especially for the sharks, June in prime time. Inshore, stay on top of the striper scene as big fish continue to work their way out towards the East End. While the action is still good during daylight hours at the start of a falling tide, the night bite is picking up steam real fast so it might be time to cut the graveyard shift into your prospecting hours.