Long Island - New York Fishing Report - July 13, 2017

The fishing scene on Long Island is in full swing as inshore and offshore are producing plenty of action. Although the heat can make things tough both for those above and below water, the bite has remained pretty strong across the board. Between stripers, porgies, sea bass or fluke there is always something around to put some bend in a rod.

Metro

At Hudson Park Bait and Tackle, John reports that the fluke fishing has gotten better this week. If you have a favorite spot in the New Rochelle area, he recommends you try it out as the summer flatties have been showing up in the usual areas. Scup remain scare here but further east there is a solid push along with a mix of sea bass. Cocktail blues are all over the place making after dark prime time for bass. This week there was a 42 pounder landed using bunker chunks.

Over at Stella Maris Bait And Tackle, stripers have been hitting decently at night on eels but the biggest buzz this week has been about the sheepshead being caught in the back of Jamaica Bay. Apparently they are in pretty thick as a one of the guys from the shop had 4 one day and 5 the next. Fluking hasn’t improved much and scup can still be found along the rocky bottoms.

South Shore

In Oceanside, at Bay Park Fishing Station, fluke, porgies and sea bass have been the main attractions up to this point. The local reefs like Rockaway Reef are fishing well as multiple keepers and one up to 6.5 pounds were peeled off the bottom there this week. Sean bass are all over these waters as well as those fishing with a hi-lo rig were running into double headers commonly. Offshore, a 63-inch bluefin was landed using a 5-3/4 oz blue and white Joe Shute that was tipped with ballyhoo. So the waters are alive all over, you just need to be out there.

At Causeway Bait and Tackle, the fluke bite has gotten a little better this week. It still isn’t red hot but a clear improvement on what it had been. On the outside there are lots of sea bass to be had. Some keepers are mixed in but there is a fair number of shorts as well. Bass have been hitting best in the back bays on clam chin and plugs. A pleasant surprise is that king fish have shown up along the beaches. They have been patrolling the bottoms with a good amount of fluke and scup. Offshore, tuna have been all over. There have been fish over 60-70 inches but the average is about 40-75 pounds. The shark bite has cooled off a little but there are some small threshers still around.

At Smith Point Bait and Tackle, Craig reports that the porgy and sea bass action has been steady this week. Fluke and striped bass are also fishing well as an 8-pound fluke was landed and a 26-pound bass taken on clam. The fluke have been beat around 40-60 feet of water and seems to be allowing more keepers as of late. The beaches are fishing well for all and the action is “can’t miss”.

Paulies from River Bay Outfitters reports that there has been very slow fluke action lately. The heat could be a possible reason but the bite has not been hot. Sea bass on the other hand have been doing very well. There’s still the usual sorting of shorts but the overall action has been great and there are plenty of keepers to make things interesting. On the freshwater side, local ponds continue to fish well through the heat. Weeds are a bit more of a problem now but if you can hit the water early, at sunrise, that’s when it’s been the best. Flies are a great way to beat the low lying weeds and anglers have been doing well with carp lately on the fly rod.

North Shore

Aboard Northport Charters with Capt. Stu, this week they continued to hammer away at porgies. Some have been weighing in at up to 2.5 pounds. He’s also been doing well picking away at fluke. They haven’t been as numerous as the scup but have been up to 4 pounds.

On the Celtic Quest, porgies continue to be found inshore along the beaches rather than moving deeper as they usually will this time of year. Sea bass have been hitting the decks also but it seems they are not fully set up in the deeper waters just yet. There have big some big keepers found though and make for a perfect mid up while digging into scup.

At Terminal Tackle Company, John Sr. Reports that stripers have been hitting well on clam chum off of Eatons Neck, Huntington Bay and Cold Springs Harbor. There have been plenty of bunker pods around so if you can look for them, there’s a good chance the bass will be under them. The fluke action has slowed but bigger fish can be found in about 30-feet of water. Scup have been found in up to 50-feet of water and are also fishing well. They can be found off most local beaches too mixed in with a healthy amount of sea robins.

East End

In Hampton Bays, at White Water Outfitters, Bryce has found some inshore tuna about 20-40 miles out. The fishing has been great and only gets better as you move east. There’s been some action in the Canyons lately as a couple big eye tuna have made their presence known. Fluke have been hot here as well and follow the same trend of getting better to the east as right now Montauk is stacked up.

At Montauk Marine Basin, stripers off the point have been the way to gone while drifting eels. The flood tide has been best but there is still some fish to be had on the ebb. Trolling has landed fish up to 60 pounds. Fluke are red hot in the end on the Island as a 12-pound doormat was landed this week. Plenty of scup and sea bass make for awesome action and a great look into the weekend.

Over at West Lake Marine, eels are drawing in some big time bass. Plenty of 40-50 pounders are falling victim and there are fish all over. Fluke is improving as a few 10-pounders hit the decks and shark fishing has led to a 474-pound thresher and lots of others smaller. Bluefin and yellow fin are also around so the time to get out is now.

At Gone Fishing Marina, there has been more the same as striper fishing is absolutely red hot, the best in years according to TJ. It seems to be mostly keepers around to anglers delight with and average of 30-40 pound fish. The biggest this week to hit the docks was weighed in at 55 pounds. Sharks are keeping pace too as a 130- pound mako and a 280-pound thresher were hooked into not too far offshore.

Long Island Fishing Forecast

With the East End seemingly under attack from species of all kinds, if you’re looking to plan a trip out there is now better time than now. With the number of fish around and plenty of keepers, it seems whatever your favorite fishing tactic is, you will find success. Across the rest of Long Island, look to check in on your best spots as this is the time of year most fish begin to really settle into the areas they know. Either way, with a decent forecast for this weekend, make sure to take some time and throw some cast or drop a line to get in on all the fun.