The weather does not seem to have an effect on the fishing around Long Island. Everywhere along the South Shore, big blues have invaded. On the North Shore it has been the porgies keeping anglers busy with some insane fishing. Fluke fishing continues to be going well and larger striped bass have started to really show up here in Long Island as well. Here is what your local tackle shops had to say about the fishing this past week.
At Hudson Park Bait and Tackle large striped bass have started to be caught at night in the area on chunked bunker. During the day, the bite is starting to improve with anglers catching most fish on mojos. John said the porgy bite is absolutely insane on the north shore. Fluke fishing is doing well with most of the bigger fish being caught in the 15- to 25-foot range.
In Brooklyn, at Stella Maris Bait and Tackle, fluke fishing has been very good with fish coming in as big as 9 pounds. They said the blues have moved into the area and are being caught on a variety of lures. The striped bass fishing is getting better in Jamaica Bay, with chunked bunker and worms being the bait of choice.
Causeway Bait and Tackle said, blues have come in hot and heavy all over Jones Inlet and the south shore. They said even the seals have been getting in on the bite with one reported today in the inlet eating a nice sized bluefish. So far they have heard reports of scattered striped bass action on the ocean front and bay. The fluke fishing they said has been best in the back bays with the warmer water.
Talked to Paul at River Bay Outfitters, the first thing he said was the blues are everywhere and they are hungry! He has seen some blues weighing into the teens already caught. Paul was out this week with the fly rod in the back bay and caught himself a nice 28” striped bass. He said on the freshwater side things still remain good in the local ponds and waterways.
At Bay Park Fishing Station, anglers have been targeting a variety of species as of late. With so many options it can be hard to pick one. They have heard of reports of some nice sized striped bass being caught on the troll. They got a report this week of an angler fishing Jamaica Bay using Glass Minnow Teaser/Spro Bucktail and had probably the first 10lber caught on Long Island this season. Fluke was 30″ 10lb.
Captree Bait and Tackle said the bass and bluefish are just about everywhere. The morning tide seems to be the ticket so far this spring. Anglers have been finishing success using both swim shads and cut baits. They have also heard of a lot of weakfish in the area being taken on small soft plastics. Fluke fishing from the boats has been awesome in the channels both bucktailing and dragging bait have been working.
At Smith Point Bait and Tackle, they said even with the rain today things have gone off in their area. Striped bass weighing up to 18 pounds have hit the scales being caught on a chunk of bunker. He said most of the striped bass however have been coming off of darters. They had a nice 24 inch fluke come in today. The big fluke was caught today while and angler was throwing a diamond jig by the bridge trying to catch blues!
Talked to Jeff at White Water Outfitters he said, the big blues finally moved in to both the bay and the inlet. He has also heard of some bigger striped bass being caught and weighing up to 20lbs. Fluke fishing as of yesterday was still very good in the back bays.
At Harbor Marina of East Hampton, big blues, nice sized porgies and a mix of short and keeper sized striped bass are the main event in the Peconics and Gardiners Bay. Gator Blues up to 12 lbs have moved into the bay and are offering great action for anglers jigging the rips or casting onto some of the better flats areas. A mix of near keeper to just over keeper sized Striped Bass seem to be competing with the Blues for abundent baitfish ranging from Butter fish and Bunker to Squid.
Rick witnessed a breeding session of Atlantic SilverSides over the new moon (while participating in the Cornell Horseshoe crab monitoring program) in one of our local estuaries. Its great to finally see them back strong after the damage done to their numbers due to superstorm Sandy a few year ago.
Porgy fishing is on fire with great catches from Robins Island to Gardiners Island. Fluking has been a little slow over the past couple of days and there is not much to report on the weakfish front, but everyone is hoping they make a strong showing soon.
Sue at Miller Place Bait and Tackle said the porgies are even being taken off of the beach the bite is so hot. Porgies as big as 16 and 17 inches have been taken from the shore at rocky point. Schoolie striped bass are still being caught in the back bays with an occasional keeper mixed in. Keeper fluke have been taken off of the north shore as well this past week.
In Montauk at Montauk Marine Basin, the fluke fishing has been getting better by the day. They have also heard of bluefish loving in as well as small bass along the south shore. The porgy bite in the area has been really good and the fish are thick.
At Westlake Marina, they have also heard of decent action with the fluke as of late. The porgy bite has been hot and should only get better.
Terminal Tackle reports schoolie bass have still been keeping anglers busy on the north shore. They have not seen too many big fish, but they should very soon. Fluke fishing has been reasonably good when the weather cooperates. They said squid have moved in and the fluke have been feeding on them.
On the Celtic Quest, when the weather cooperated so did the fishing. Even the days with not the most perfect conditions they were able to still put a good catch together. The porgy fishing has been really good this spring and the fluke is starting to get really good as well. Make sure to go online and book a trip today to get into the action.
Fishing Forecast for Long Island – New York
The fishing in most areas has been off the chart this past week. If the rain is holding you back this weekend, go out and buy a rain jacket so you don’t miss out on the action. The fish are already wet so they do not care. This time of year there are a ton of options for you to target. The best bet seems to be these bluefish that have started to invade. You can catch these fish on a variety of lures and bait. One of the favorites of many anglers though is top water. Make sure you stop into a shop and grab a popper or a pencil popper. It is an amazing site to see these yellow eyed demons go after a top water plug. Good luck everyone this weekend and make sure you keep sending in your photos!
I want to know when the porgy will be on beach channel rock away. Bay. In New York