As the summer begins to give way to fall, many anglers are already looking forward to the fall blitz for stripers and bluefish. However, action with fluke, porgies and seabass is still red hot across Long Island and should not be forgotten just yet.
John from Hudson Park Bait & Tackle is still seeing big fluke continually being put on ice and filling angler’s limits. There is also a good bite with porgies and seabass still going on in the deeper waters on squid and clam. Blue fish have been around but scares during the daytime. The night bite has been best with decent sized blues taking diamond jigs and bunker chunks. On the other hand, schoolie bass have been hitting better during the daytime on plugs off the local beaches.
In Brooklyn at Stella Maris, the scup and fluke bite has been fantastic. The porgies have been off just about all beaches and piers with big size. The doormat fluke have also still been showing up in the deeper, cooler waters. There are some cocktail blues and bass around but the bass action has been slow. Offshore, some big eye tuna have begun to show up off the canyon on the troll.
At Ralph’s Tackle in Island Park, the action off the Atlantic and Hempstead Reefs has been producing -well. There have also been some fluke out of Jones Inlet in about 70-feet of water. From the surf, there have been lots of king fish and brown sharks around, as well as plenty of snapper and blue claw crabs in the back bays. On the Rockaway Reef, sea bass and porgies have been tearing up the bottom.
On the Capitol Princess, Eric reports that the giant blues are in, especially with the help of this past full moon. They also ran into a few stripers, but there are less keepers around than there had been. The seabass and porgy bite is still very strong in the Manhattan area and with the signs so far, it looks like the fall run may start a little early this year.
At Bay Park Fishing Station, the reports of fluke fishing keep getting better. The red hot action this week produced a 10.8-pound doormat along with plenty of 5-7-pound flatties to go along. Seabass and scup also have been consistent, as with most of the Island. The bass and bluefish scene has been slow these past few weeks and there are still a few being picked but the fish are all heading further to the east.
Phil from Cow Harbor reports that there is a ton of bait in Northport Harbor. From mature and peanut bunker to rain bait and spearing. Things are setting up nicely for surf casting in the coming weeks. There have been some nice schoolie bass around taking small shades or grubs paired with a mix of cocktail and monster blues. The bluefish have been anywhere from 2-5-pounds off the beach to 10-16-pounds out in the deeper waters working the schools of bait. The fluke bite has been so-so this week but the always present scup are still working mussel beds and rocky bottoms.
John Sr. from Terminal Tackle is still seeing plenty of fish around, though not many anglers went out this week due to the weather. The bass and blues have been following the schools of bait into deeper waters but if you can find them, are still well worth the effort. Fluking has still been good in about 30-feet of water and deeper. Closer to shore, there are plenty of snappers off the local docks and harbors. Off Sunken Meadow and the nearby beaches, there has been a slight run of small blues chasing spearing along the shores.
At Bergen Bay Docks, Scott reports that there was a definite slowed effort by anglers this week due to the heat and wind. For guys that did go out, they were met with a weakfish bite out of Fire Island Inlet and some spotty fluke action. Seabass are still around the offshore wrecks that haven’t been fished too heavily by party boats. The weather for next week looks like a much better setup.
Over in Huntington at The Campsite, Carmine continues to see the best bass bite early in the morning or late at night on live eels and bunker chunks. The run of local blues are also following this feeding cycle and working the large number of bunker schools that are holding in the area. Seabass and porgies have been good on clam and squid as the scup are weighing in at up to 3-pounds.
At Smith Point Bait & Tackle, Craig details that the fluke fishing got much better this week. Many anglers that made the effort came home with full coolers. The stripers began to improve as well out of Jones Inlet.
Jim from Miller Place Bait & Tackle reports there are still plenty of fish in the area. Porgies and seabass have been mixing it up off buoy 11 as well as the Middle Grounds. Also in the area have been some bass hitting best between the hours of 3am-sunrise on live eels. Off the local piers, there was a small run of cocktail blues this week falling for 007 diamond jigs.
Further east in Southold, Steve from Wego Fishng reports some weakfish action on the bay side off of Buoy 16. Along with them have been some porgies and the seabass have been around off Fishers Island. Most of the bass and blue action has moved into the Gut and Race as well as just north of there.
In Hampton Bays, at White Water Outfitters, Jeff has seen a slight decrease in the bass and bluefish bite. On the other hand, the summer flattie bite has been red hot as many boats are coming back with coolers packed with doormats. The ocean side has produced the biggest fish with smaller fluke in the bays, but both have shown plenty of fish to go around.
David from Montauk Marine Basin has solid fluking on the south side as well. Seabass and stripers have also been hitting in high numbers on squid and live eels respectively. Offshore, there has been a run of yellowfin tuna out of the butterfish hole this week and seems that they will be in the area moving forward.
At Gone Fishing Marina, the boat, “Emotional Rescue” did very well on a trip this week pulling in a 75-pound yellowfin as well as a sword fish, marlin and a 25-pound mahi just offshore. There have been some monster big eye tuna around as the boat also lost one right at the end. Inshore, bassing has slowed down a little though there were still some 30-pound fish being weighed in at the dock. The best inshore fishing has been with fluke and seabass as both are still make it well worth a day on the water.
Also in Montauk, at Westlake Marina, fluke fishing has been red hot out of the Cartwright waters. This week produced a 12, 10.2, and 9.7-pounder. The striper bite has been consistent with a few cows hitting the docks paired with plenty of smaller 20-30-pound fish. Offshore, only 12-15-miles out, the shark fishing has also been great. A 311-pound thresher came in this week along with many others.
Fishing Forecast for Long Island
As bass and blues begin to prepare for the fall blitz, look to continue the steady action of bottom fishing. From fluke to scup or seabass, the summer fish are still in full swing. This doesn’t mean to not be prepared for a school of bass working a school of bunker as some big fish have already been turning up on them.
On the freshwater scene, continue to mix up tactics working all levels of the water to find a mix bag of largemouth bass, pickerel, and perch on the local ponds to get some easier fishing with equal or better results.
A very good report!Thank You!