As the late days of August begin to slowly slip into September, the fishing across Long Island continues to produce plenty of action throughout all water levels. Bottom fishing for fluke, sea bass and porgies has been red hot. Blues and bass are starting back up as they had cooled off for a bit in recent weeks. The heavy rainfall we had midweek may have slowed down things across the board for a day or two, but with the amount of bait we have spread up and down the Island, it was only a matter of time before the fire was lit again.
Metro
At Hudson Park Bait and Tackle, John reports that there have been some pretty decent sized blues around chasing the plentiful amounts of baitfish. Peanut bunker have been all over along with the other usual suspects in the prey department which have been drawing in the blues along with some stripers. The bass have been taken mainly out of the rocky areas using artificial grubs and shad. A couple shad have been showing up along with 2 bonito that were small but are always a welcome sign as others were sprinkled throughout Long Island also. Down deeper, scup are in high alert for any piece of squid, clam or spearing they can find making for easy catching. Sea bass have been hitting hard as well on the slower sides of the tide.
In Brooklyn, at Stella Maris, Stretch has been seeing almost a carpeting of porgies as they are seemingly everywhere. Off the piers, the beaches, in deep water and shallow, it’s almost tougher not to be on them than it is to hook up. The bass on the other hand have been tougher to locate as a few here and there can be tempted into a bite but the action hasn’t been great. Same can be said for the blues as right now, there just doesn’t seem to be many around these waters.
South Shore
Ashley from Bay Park Fishing Station reports that the fluke action has been great over the last few days. Between boats fishing at Cholera and Atlantic Beach Reef, there were multiple fish taken over 7 pounds with one topping the scales at 9.6 pounds. Live snappers seem to be the best bet when looking to land one of these doormats and as many anglers turn their attention to other species this time of year, it’s a great opportunity to get on your favorite spots without the big crowds. Short productive drifts have been a good strategy just continuing to work over the areas you know the fish are stacked up. Sea bass are also fishing very well here with a couple pushing the 3-pound mark. There are plenty of 2 pounders as well but the bite has been hot.
At Causeway Bait and Tackle, fluke fishing has been great especially between Wantagh and Medow Brook. The bite has also spanned across Cholera and the Middle Grounds waters as anglers continue to pluck the summer flatties off the bottom. There has been plenty of action with a fair amount of keepers worked into the mix. Schoolie bass have been found off the beaches and are responding well to clam on the bay side. There are bound to be some bigger fish mixed in as fall continues to creep in. Shark fishing has slowed a little from the beach as the weather may have pushed them off.
North Shore
In Kings Park, at Terminal Tackle, John Sr. reports that the striper bite has slowed down this week. Some of the bunker schools have moved out to deeper waters and it seems the bass have followed. There are still some bunker working their way around the harbors and closer waters but there haven’t been many fish in them. Gator blues can be found out towards the middle of the sound on some of the bunker schools out there. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for these fish to move closer to shore. For now, there are lots of cocktail blues that have been patrolling the shorelines and make for plenty of action to hold you over for now. Porgies continue to be the hottest item off the beaches, in the harbors and out in deeper waters. When the tide slows and the sea bass get a chance to make their move, the bite has been good but it’s tough to reach them when the tide is active. Fluke are hitting well on the drop offs in about 40-feet of water. Closer to shore, on the flats there are plenty of short fluke with an occasional keeper mixed in but it seems a majority of the bigger fish have taken refuge in the deeper waters. Snappers continue to grow but are still a great size for bait or just taking a kid down to get in on the fun.
At Miller Place Bait and Tackle, Jim has seen some nice bass taken out of the Mt. Sinai waters. There are tons of scup and snappers being run into by the Old Fields area and the scup have been impressively big. On some of the local beaches you will find cocktail blues and possibly a few bonito as there have been a couple reports of them showing up within the last few days. Most of these fish have been taken by boat off the beaches, but they can easily move into the shallow waters as well.
East End
In Hampton Bays, at White Water Outfitters, Bryce reports that there are a few bass in Shinnicock Inlet but the action hasn’t been crazy this week. Anchovies and spearing are all over the place and should lead to some excellent fishing down the line. Some very small bonito have been found in these waters as well and will hopefully be replaced with some bigger ones as we move forward. No albies have been found but they are known to be showing up soon.
At Gone Fishing Marina, Tj has seen some great bass fishing this week. Day or night has been good for using live eels and the troll is a can’t miss as usual. Fluke fishing has been on and off depending on the day. The south side has been much hotter as the north side is holding more sea bass and scup, which are red hot as with most of Long Island. Trigger fish have also been working their way in the mix and make for a nice change of pace.
Tonya from West Lake Marina reports that a few albies have been found in the local Montauk waters this week. Not a ton but at least one solid report leads way for high hopes. A monster 19.45-pound gator blue was wrestled in as well as some big sea bass and stripers. The offshore and inshore tuna bite has been slow most of the week but there was a 57.7-pound yellowfin landed not far off of Montauk Point.
Fishing Forecast for Long Island
The overall action this week across Long Island was impressive. The bottom fish still seem to hold the upper hand but that should be changing side in the near future. In the meantime, look to keep jigging away for fluke, scup and sea bass while the fall run begins to take form. With the amount of bait we have been seeing all year and continue to have now, the fall run is shaping up to be one to remember so make sure you have your gear in line and knots tightened so you can be ready at a moments notice.