The fall run is alive and well on Long Island. Big stripers are still schooled up off the west end, while schoolies and keepers are providing action throughout the rest of the island.
Blackfishing is good at the Marine Park Bridge and Rockaway Reef according Stretch at Stella Maris Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn. As for stripers, there are three options—troll for big fish, jig for smaller fish, or fish eels at night for a mix of both. Stretch also mentioned that there are a few bass being taken from the piers.
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Oceanside said fly-fishermen are enjoying fun fishing at Jones Beach and around the jetty with stripers and 16- to 18-inch hickory shad. The shad are easy targets will small Decievers or shrimp patterns, and can put a good bend in a 7- or 8-weight with a few jumps thrown in for good measure. Paul mentioned steady action on the North Shore with 22- to 24-inch bass, and also said that Jamaica Bay has been coming alive with bass feeding on bunker. He also noted that the streams around Long Island have been stocked with trout and are fishing very well.
At Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside, Rob reported that boats trolling west of Debs Inlet on Monday and Tuesday caught stripers to into the 30-pound range. TGT Tackle Spoons have been the hot bait, Rob said. Rob also noted that the blackfishing on Rockaway Reef has been good, with fish to 9 pounds on white-legger crabs.
At Captree Bait and Tackle, Larry said the schools of big bass are steadily moving west, but are still within range of the South Shore boats. Fish are being taken on diamond jigs.
Bobby at Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh, said the striper fishing is spectacular for the boat fishermen, but not so much for the surfcasters. Boats are doing the most damage by trolling bunker spoons and mojo rigs in 30 feet of water. Gold diamond jigs have also been effective. The back bays, especially around the bridges, have been producing steady striper fishing on clam bellies.
Jim at Miller Place Bait and Tackle said fishermen are consistently catching limits of blackfish. He’d heard of fish to 6 pounds taken this week at the Middle Grounds. Jim also said schoolies and blues are providing action off the beaches and in Mount Sinai Harbor.
At Smith Point Bait and Tackle in Shirley, Craig said there are scattered pods of big bass offshore from Shinnecock to Jones Inlet. While the boat fishermen are experiencing tremendous fishing, surfcasters, unfortunately, have been watching the run slip by just out of range. Schoolies are being caught off the South Shore beaches, along with a few blues, but the big bass have, for the most part, remained offshore.
Blackfish are the main event in Montauk reported Tonya at West Lake Marina in Montauk. Besides them, some small stripers have been blitzing as they swim west.
There was similar news from Montauk Marine Basin, where few fishermen had gotten out in the past week. When they did, however, they found good fishing for tog at Fisher’s.
At White Water Outfitters, Bryce said the deep-water black sea bass fishing has been strong, and that tog fishing has been great at the local reefs when weather allows for a trip. There are plenty of bass in the inlets and offshore, Bryce said, fish in a mix of sizes from schoolies to 20-pounders. There have also been some 10- to 12-pound bluefish in the mix. Surprisingly, the canyons have been fishing well, with boats reporting swordfish, both at night and daytime deep-dropping, and bigeye tuna to 280 pounds, with some yellowfin still in the mix. Chunking has been the best bet for the tuna. After the very slow fall in the canyons, Bryce said this last bite has been excellent.
Fishing Forecast for Long Island
Don’t wait too long to cash in on the striper fishing. The keeper-sized and larger fish are moving steadily west, but for the time being are still with range of boats from Shinnecock to Jones Inlet. Trolling is the best bet for a trophy, but vertical jigging is also working at times.
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