Long Island Fishing Report – May 2, 2019

Long Island Fishing Report

Small stripers continue to inundate most Long Island waters. A second wave of stripers recently arrived carrying slightly larger fish, including a number of keepers. The big pre-spawn bass are still holding strong in the Raritan and have descended upon other western Long Island waterways. Big winter flounder are being caught in the Great South Bay, there are a surprisingly high number of weakfish reports, and the first offshore reports have come in regarding tuna. Freshwater fishing has been on fire this week, as big largemouth move to the shallows.

Nassau County Fishing Report

Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin lauded the recent trout action on Long Island. People are catching nice fish out of multiple streams, such as the Nissequogue and Connetquot Rivers. “Elwood Flies Bill” was fishing the Caleb Smith and had a great day catching trout on his own fly designs. Bill says the nice thing about Caleb Smith is that it’s a smaller river that holds good fish that receive little pressure. Paul also received word from Joe, the superintendent at Belmont Lake, about BIG trout being caught in there. Joe says good largemouth bass are being caught as well, and there are plenty of them, as the lake is catch & release only.

On the saltwater side, Paul has heard of and seen schoolies all over the back bays. He organized a fly-fishing trip to Green Island this past Monday, and seven bass were caught; a bunch of those were people’s first stripers on the fly. Paul’s trips provide a great opportunity to learn more about fly fishing, practice your casting, and catching some fish! Give him a call for more information on his scheduled outing to Belmont Lake this coming Monday.

Boats brought word of big stripers into Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside. Capt. Paul DiCosimo and the Dirty Martini crew (Gene, Robert & Dennis) caught four stripers in the Raritan up to 28-pounds. These fish were caught on white/chartreuse mojos: the eight-inch four-ounce, and the 10-inch six-ounce versions.

Lloyd Malsin of the Nansea II fished the mouth of Raritan Bay last Wednesday and boated five stripers, one of which was a large egg-laden female and was released to breed. Lloyd also gave the flounder a quick shot and hooked one.

Mike Mizvesky and the crew of the Vienna checked in Sunday after catching many large fish in 25–35 feet of water, west of Breezy Point. They had nine bass up to 40-pounds, and only kept one. The 40-pounder took a trolled 6.5-inch chartreuse Tsunami Heavy Shad. A 33-pounder they released fell for a brown/white Spoon Fed bunker spoon.

Capt. Matt Roth and Doc Mike of Team Beast/Trophy Charters had over a dozen bass to 29 pounds near Sandy Hook on Sunday. They boated some bass using the fly rod, some on the heavy Tsunami shads that Bay Park just started selling, and even more on Mojos.

Theo at Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh reported schoolie stripers with the occasional keeper from Field 6 Robert Moses. Schoolies are being caught at Wantagh Park as well. If you want a better chance at keeper bass, head west and troll Mojos around the Ambrose channel. Theo also heard reports of blackfish around the bridges, from people getting their last licks before tog season closed April 30.

Kathy at Freeport Bait and Tackle out of Freeport had reports of a few keeper bass this week in her local waters, amongst the many schoolies. One guy reported he landed two big keepers in Bayside, Queens. Word of larger stripers also came from the Rockaway Inlet.

No one is reporting any flounder catches around Freeport, and there haven’t yet been any sightings of bluefish that she knows of.

Kathy brought up her shop’s tournament, which takes place on June 15, the day before Father’s Day. It is called the Fluke Frenzy, and the Hudson Anglers Club has been hosting this tournament for 30+ years. Stop in or call for information.

Robert at Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport says the bass are still holding strong to the west but are en route to our local waters. There are tons of schoolies, but people are now reporting catches of bigger fish. When asked “how big?” Robert said there are 20-30 pounders on the move. No word on bluefish at Sea Isle either.

Suffolk/East End Fishing Report

Frank at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale says lots of people have found bass. They’re catching plenty of stripers along the local docks, even a few keeper-sized fish; John Loetz landed four keeper bass trolling the bay.

Frank informed me of big winter flounder between East and West Island, caught using bloodworms and mussels. There are also lots of weakfish coming up at Ocean Beach, and they are being caught on jelly worms and pink bass assassins.

Frank is the first to mention tuna this year. He said some guys went out to the hundred square of the Hudson Canyon and managed to find some bigeye and bluefin tunas.

Lindenhurst Bait and Tackle out of Lindenhurst reported news of schoolies being caught on the north side of Great South Bay by shop regulars. Flounder fishermen have been reporting better catches than weeks prior; on average, 2-3 anglers are producing four or five flounder per trip up to two and a half pounds. Ground clams, chum, sand worms and fresh mussels are necessary. Stirring up the bottom may help. Stripers have been jumping on small Atom and Guide Secret Baby Bottle Pop Plugs in the state boat channel.

A few others had success at Robert Moses bridge and Democrat Point using yellow or tiger-tail diamond jigs. Cocktail blues are starting to show up at Ocean Avenue dock in Patchogue and the Sayville dock. 1-2 oz casting spoons and poppers are working best. The shop is stocked with all your fluke fishing needs for opening day, Saturday May 4. There should be a good start with plenty of action, due to large quantities of bait already inside and water temps in the mid-upper 50s. Ask about their shop fluke pool when you stop in!

Ed at Warrens in Aquebogue is looking forward to porgy reports coming in this week, now that the season has just opened. Some fishermen have just started going out and are getting into high gear for the spring run of bigger bass and blues. People are catching stripers and weakfish in the Shinnecock Canal. There is a lot of bunker all around the east end, so prospects are high for some exciting big fish moments this spring.

Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports that cold, rainy and windy weather has dominated the on the water experience here in East Hampton over the past week. Anglers fishing from the beach continue to hold the upper hand thus far into the 2019 season.

The highlight of the week was widespread activity of gannets working along the south shore ocean beaches. Their dive-bombing like aerial maneuvers are quiet a spectacle. One verified blitz took place along the ocean beaches in East Hampton, and there was talk of others. There are schoolie bass along the beaches for those willing to put in the effort.

A few fluke and some porgies have been caught by local sharpies targeting striped bass up in the Peconics. Bunker schools are also abundant up in the bay and have caught the attention of bluefish who are on the prowl and could be a force to reckon with on our opening weekend of fluke season.

As with last year the fluke opener is on the early side (May 4th) but we should see some quality summer flounder mixed in with porgies and some sea bass. Water temps are up into the lower to mid 50’s in the bay. This year New York State is 4 fish at 19 inches for fluke (May 4th). Porgies are 30 fish at 9 inches (May 1st) and sea bass remain closed until June 23rd.

Be prepared for increased boating activity this weekend and be certain to have your NYS marine registry permit on hand along with all of your boating safety gear. The NYS DEC officers are often greeting and checking anglers permits and catch on the opening weekends.

Please be respectful of all fish landings, know the regulations and practice responsible catch and release as you see appropriate. Good luck this weekend.

Fishing Forecast for Long Island

Almost every saltwater fish species you can target is in our local waters. I caught my first big sea robin two days ago while looking for weakfish. The stripers are pretty easy to find in the surf if you put your time in casting small bucktails/jigs around high tide. I will be fishing the night tides hard this week looking for bigger bass and weakfish from shore. The biggest fish will eat in the least-fished hours. The canals are a good bet for finding those big weakfish. Look for the larger stripers around strong currents as well. Everyone is excited about the start of porgy season, so expect lots of news on them next week. Fluke season opens Saturday, so I’m sure we’ll hear a bit about them as well.

I will definitely spend my daylight hours during the following week on the freshwater side. My friend EJ is a lunker magnet, and says the biggest largemouth bass are moving shallow right now. EJ had two bigmouths over 6 pounds in about 15 minutes yesterday. Furthermore, I got to witness countless groups of large carp swimming around preparing to spawn in my local lake. They’re frustrating to cast at, as they aren’t interested in food, but it is cool to witness and watch. The ospreys are honed in on the freshwater near me as well. If you only fish saltwater, you’re missing out on some jaw-dropping experiences on the freshwater side, and vice versa. Whichever kind of fishing you favor, I hope you enjoy your time on the water this week! Tight lines everyone.