Long Island New York Fishing Report – May 30, 2019

Long Island Fishing Report

Lots of big stripers are still being taken by boats trolling spoons on the western south shore as of this morning. Bluefish, big and small, have taken over the entire island, ravaging just about anything thrown at them. Similar fluking scene to weeks past, with a few more keepers in the mix. The central island has outstanding fishing opportunities, both in both salt and fresh waters. Some big weakfish are hitting the scales. A white perch bite has commenced mid-island. Lots of trout are being caught on dry flies around low light.

Nassau County

Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside hosted its 12th annual Kevin Owens Striped Bass Tournament. 1st place was a 47.9-pound fish taken by Rob Milkowski on Matt Roth’s boat Beast. The fish was caught on a Spoon Fed electric yellow bunker spoon. Second place was awarded to the Wachtel brothers’ 46.7-pound fish, taken on their boat Watch n Roll using a chartreuse Rockfish Candy loaded 24×6 tandem.

Outside of the tournament, many big bass were caught weighing between 24 and 45 pounds. The largest bass was weighed by Pete & Barbara of “Legal Limits”: it weighed 45.8 pounds and was taken in the afternoon on a green/white TGT bunker spoon. Just about every other big bass outside Deb’s was taken on bunker spoons.

On Sunday, Captain Mike Redmond of Lil Mist took his grandsons Danny & Robbie Rafferty fluke fishing. They fished near Point Lookout and used KO single white rigs tipped with spearing; they had a nice keeper fluke that the boys caught that weighed just under four pounds. Early this Thursday morning, Eric Sarafin and Dave Stock of “3 Kings” caught 2 keeper bass in 55 feet of water south of Deb’s Inlet. The fish weighed 33 and 30-pounds; they were taken on a Mann Stretch 30 lure, and a white/green Spoonfed bunker spoon.

Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin noted the bluefish’s domination of the local scene. They are all over the bays, in all shapes and sizes. It seems that people can’t get enough of them, as anglers are slaughtering hordes of tackle-busters. I concurred with Paul that it’s unfortunate to see large numbers of people walk away with a dozen trophy bluefish; but to each his own, as long as the law allows it. Jones Inlet and the west end had some trophy blues for a few days. One customer brought in a 12-pounder for the scale. Smaller blues have invaded more recently.

Fluke fishing has been good for the guys who are bouncing bottom. They’re coming up on the flats now and are still being caught in the deeper water.

Paul hit the Carman River at night this week, at Southaven County Park. He casted dry flies to nice-sized, rising, wild brook trout as the sun set, and caught a bunch. LIRR Tom has been fishing the dock lights at night and doing very well there on the stripers. He’s even had some keepers using this method.

Matt at Causeway Bait & Tackle in Wantagh says the fluking is better in the bay right now, versus out on the reef. People are catching plenty of flatties in the bays, with some very good fish to 8.5-pounds taken in Reynolds Channel.

Bigger bass are still being picked to the west, but you can remain occupied locally with the schoolie bite. There are a good amount of shorter fish by the bridges, caught by anglers who are chumming clams.There are lots of bluefish all over the bay. For the past week and a half, it was mainly huge bluefish, but a lot more smaller blues have moved into the bay. There are a good number of blues on the beach as well, especially at Democrat Point.

Kathy at Freeport Bait & Tackle got reports of great porgy fishing in Bayville and Sunken Meadow. Anglers are still catching the big striped bass hanging off Rockaway Beach and Deb’s Inlet. There is a good night bite occurring right now. Bay Park in East Rockaway would be a good bet if you wanted to get in on the night bite. Fluke fishing took a slight downturn; it’s been spotty in the bay as of late. Kathy joked that all the big keepers were taken and weighed in on opening day.

Suffolk County

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle in Oakdale says bluefish have taken the bay by force, and they are ravenous. Poppers, tins, spoons and swimming plugs are getting smashed to bits by giant bluefish. Vinny Cagnina had two blues over 12-pounds on Friday night on Gibbs poppers. 11-year-old Tommy Keegan brought in a chunky 9.5-pounder to weigh in. Chris Lomangino had the blue-of-the-week with a monster 15.6-pounder hitting the scale. Striper action has slowed down a bit due to the blues, but they are definitely still here.

Fluke action is still hot with bucktails, “Gulp!” jigs, and the classic squid-and-spearing combo. The shop owner Frank had fluke up to 21-inches on Thursday. Jake Farino had fluke up to 20-inches on Friday, using white bucktails tipped with a pink “Gulp!” minnow. Weakfish are running the early tides, chasing bucktails and jelly worms. Tom Luciano landed a beautiful 7.2-pound weakfish early Saturday morning. Frank had four weakfish up to 5.6-pounds on Thursday with Bass Assassins and Jelly Worms.

On the freshwater side, trout action remains solid in the rivers and lakes. For spinning tackle, use Kastmasters and Phoebes, worms, or Trout Magnets. On the fly, wooly bugger and grasshopper patterns are getting smashed up by lively browns. Lots of luck on dropper setups with small scuds or nymphs on the back as well. The dry fly bite is on heavy in the mornings and evenings. Mayfly and moth patterns are getting chewed right up. Bill from the shop had great luck Saturday morning on mayfly patterns, with a 14-inch brown being his biggest of the day. Vinny Cagnina had great luck drifting hare’s ear/scud droppers for a few spectacular brook trout this weekend.

White perch have finally started to show up, and they are in all of their usual spots. They are chewing on jigs, worms, and wooly buggers. Crappie, yellow perch, and bluegill are all out and about, looking for food after the spawn. All you need is worms, bobbers, and hooks for a great day on the lake, Perfect for the kids! Find us on Facebook and Instagram (@chasingtailsbait and @fishlongisland) for pictures and updates throughout the week.

Long Island surf fishing guide Bernie Bass had some good numbers of small stripers on the south shore beaches during the daytime tides, primarily on bucktails and soft plastics. The night tides produced some quality fish along the south shore beaches as well. The nighttime fish took darters, bottle plugs, and SP Minnows. There were plenty of big blues in the Great South Bay, and between the two forks. Bernie observed a lot of smaller baits, with occasional pods of bunker. Check out Bernie’s facebook or website, www.berniebass.com, to book him for a session on the water

Lindenhurst Bait & Tackle: The beginning of the week started with strong winds and rain. There were still several weakfish close to 4 pounds. caught by S.I.F.C. member Bob Karman and the “Schaefer City” crew near Ocean Beach on Tuesday. Boats to the West have been catching striped bass into the high forties. The most consistent action has been trolling Mojos and Tony Maja bunker spoons. Both lures seem to be equally effective this season. Adult bunker pods are deep inside the Great South Bay in north side canals and just outside both inlets. It was “slim pickins” with a low keeper to short ratio for several sharpie crews targeting fluke. Capt. Jim and Ken jigged up two keepers to 22 inches and loads of shorts near Frank and Dick’s on Saturday. On Sunday Joe and Billy Biscardi weighed a decent 3.56 pound fluke, and released 25 shorts. Bluefish have invaded most of the south side of the G.S.B. and bridges. If you want to lock into battle with these “yellow eyed devils” cast a 3 oz. Atom plug, Daiwa SP minnow or metal casting spoon and hold on. As a reminder the shop is now open extended hours and has begun sign ups for the “12th Annual Special Olympics Fluke Rodeo” on Sunday July 21st. The season-long shop fluke pool is also underway with a newly added “Calcutta;” see Rich for details.

Chase at Montauk Marine Basin says they’re getting fluke out there, mainly on the south side beaches well-west of the point. Anglers are picking a few keepers from that area. Not a lot to speak of on the bass front, although they are certainly present. Bluefish have made more of a notable showing this past week though. There are some gators into the teens, but also plenty of smaller blues under ten pounds, which are great for eating. Just bleed them out immediately, and eat them within 48 hours.

It has been tough for surfcasters out here on the south fork, according to some talented local fishermen. The ocean striper bite has been difficult with a strong east sweep this past week. Orson Frisbie told me that when “wind is east, fish bite least.” Regardless, he was able to pull a 22 inch fluke out of the surf. He also witnessed his cousin Jenn catch a nine pound fluke off her boat while fishing waters south of Montauk. Orson also tells me that the back bays are heating up, especially around Gardiners island. He and I are both surprised that the gator bluefish bite hasn’t materialized as loudly as it has in years past. He is catching some blues in the back bays, but they’re generally smaller than the mid-teen fish we’re accustomed to seeing this time of year.

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Fishing Forecast for Long Island

The couple weeks surrounding Memorial Day Weekend, for me, are filled with strenuous work, especially on the weekends. That prevents me from fishing as much as I’d like to. I don’t feel I have the best idea of what is going on in the waters near me, but I’ll tell you how I’m going to get back in gear.

First thing I’ll do is consider the info in this report. It sounds like big weakfish are biting well, so I’m gonna poke around my weakfish waters at night. I lost one of the biggest stripers I’ve ever hooked in those waters this time of year, so there’s hope for that. I know bluefish are tailing here and there sporadically, so I am going to hit my main flats spots looking for them. Bay choke points are great this time of year, especially when the ocean isn’t cooperating. I expect to get a chance at a good fish within the next week at one of those spots, whether it’s a striper, blue, or weakfish. If those narrow spots aren’t working out for me, my next move is to bucktail bridges and inlets. I am looking for big fish in those spots, and they usually hang in very close to the rocks or pilings, in snag-territory. Often I’ll get hit while sprinting the bucktail above those rocks trying to pull it out of the water before I snag up. I am using a specialty bucktail that I tie specifically for giant striped bass. It emulates the profile and movement of a large baitfish, 12-15 inches long. Check them out on my instagram page @SouthForkSalt. Other lures that mimic these large-profile baits are giant soft plastics like MegaStrike’s Mega Shads and Sluggos. Put them on an appropriate jig head and you’ve got one of the best big-fish producers there is. Also, if you want to hunt big fish, fish eels at big fish spots. I will try that approach at least once near a slack tide some time within the next 6 days. We are in the midst of a June new moon, and it offers some of the best potential of the year for big fish. Be as stealthy as possible, avoid using lights (but stay safe), and STAY LONGER than you think you should. I’ve hooked every one of my biggest fish at what seems like the eleventh hour. Godspeed.