Long Island – New York Fishing Report – October 6, 2016

Fall fishing has officially begun with the opening of blackfish season this week. Surf fishing has been hot from false albacore and stripers to sea bass and porgies. Whether you’re fishing from shore or on a boat it seems there are plenty of options for local anglers.

John from Hudson Park Bait & Tackle reports that blackfish season got off to a decent start with a couple nice keepers and a ton of shorts. Big porgies and weakfish have been mixed together on the bottom and are hitting clam strips, if you can find them, as well as squid and spearing. On the surface, blues are blowing up schools of bunker and are accompanied by sporadic showings of false albacore and bonito.

In Brooklyn, at Stella Maris, Stretch is still seeing plenty of scup off the Marine Park Bridge. On the local wrecks, blackfish have made a good start in the shallower areas but anglers are still waiting for cooler water so the big ones can make the scene. Off the local jetty, bass are hitting well on live eels just before dark and at first light. Albies are in the waters surrounding the Coney Island Pier and Kingsborough College and seem to be locked onto Deadly Dicks.

At Bay Park Fishing Station, Ashley has great action with stripers as this week multiple bass were caught in the 28- to 31-inch range. Plenty of shorts are ensuring bent rods as well. Most of the fish were taken using MoJo trolling rigs but clam chumming has also been an effective strategy. Weakfish are red hot, too, near the Church area off Rockaway as on angler reported hooking into more than 20 just days ago.

Carmine from The Camp-Site reports that the bottom is still covered in porgies and plenty of sea bass are working the same areas. Bunker schools are everywhere and drawing in blues from 8 to 12-pounds. Stripers have gotten bigger and if you can find a school of blues working the bunker, you may be able to drop down a weighted bunker chunk and pick up a bass cleaning-up the left overs. On the Sound side, false albacore have been popping up but it’s all a matter of timing to get them lined up for a cast.

Aboard the Jib VI, Captain Joe had a decent opening day of blackfish as the boat picked about a dozen keepers and had more than enough shorts to keep the mates busy. They are also picking some striped bass, sea bass and triggerfish.

At Terminal Tackle, John also had a good day of blackfishing. The local waters are currently overrun with scup and bluefish. Bass and albies have been spotty but there are big fish around. The best way to find success with these is to just keep an eye on the local beaches and a rigged pole in the car.

Brendan from Captree Bait & Tackle reports that the waters are on fire for fish of all kinds. The first mass of stripers showed up in Fire Island Inlet with fish pushing 42 pounds. From the surf, anglers have caught bass to 31 pounds on both clams and surface plugs. Blues up to 18 pounds are also in the mix as are the albies and weakfish, although there are more bluefish to go around. There has been a flurry of shad, blowfish and sea bass all around the Captree Piers as well and, of course, some scup.

In Northport, at Cow Harbor, Mark saw the best blackfish action off of Eatons Neck in shallow water. Big sea bass and porgies have moved into the deeper waters and recently some small stripers have made a push to draw attention.
At Miller Place Bait & Tackle, Jim continues to have big blues off all of the local beaches and porgies up to 14-inches at the Middle Grounds, which has been hot all year. Bigger sea bass have also moved in, claiming the deeper wrecks and measuring over 23 inches. That’s a heck of a sea biscuit.

Further east, in Southold, Steve from Wego Fishing reports fish all over the North Shore. Ten- to 20-foot depths have been best for blackfish on the north side of Plum Island and Rocky Point. The Race caught fire this week with big stripers, and there have been a few keepers off of both Kennys and McCabes beaches on bunker chunks. Bluefish are tearing up the shorelines with an occasional pod of false albacore, and sea bass are the best they’ve been in years.

At Montauk Marine Basin, the albacore are exploding on the surface if you can time them right to get in front of a moving school. Some bass are still around in the shallow waters off the beaches, and black fish got off to a respectable start with a couple good fish coming aboard.

Joe from Staten Island Tuna Club has seen the bluefish bite pick up. Blackfishing also started off well and is set up nicely to improve over the coming weeks. Green and white crabs have yielded the best ‘tog results thus far.
Paul from River Bay Outfitters found the best action this week off of Greenport when he ran across a huge school of albacore to save a morning of slow fishing. In the back bays near Jones Beach and Breezy Point there have been some small bass and scattered albies.

On the freshwater side, fall stocking should be taking place sometime next week in most ponds that have a water level that is high enough. The lack of rain has made it tough on the local ponds but with a little fall rain signs of life should reignite. In the meantime, look to drop a Wooly Bugger or any kind of small fly to pull those bass and trout off the shorelines and out of the weeds.

Fishing Forecast for Long Island, New York

This week many anglers are hoping on the blackfish bandwagon to relieve the long itch from last year. Keep in mind that we are working our way towards the best surf action for the eastern part of Long Island and there are still plenty of bass and blues elsewhere to pique your interest. Continue working the hot bottom bite and keep a casting pole within arm’s reach.