Long Island New York Fishing Report – June 6, 2019

Pictured Above: John Schlowinski caught this big bonito from Shinnecock Inlet

Long Island Fishing Report

Huge striped bass to 60 pounds are moving eastward along the south shore.

An exceptional bluefin tuna bite has materialized. A couple incredible catches in Shinnecock Inlet this week. Double-digit fluke and twenty-pound stripers have moved into Montauk. An enormous population of bluefish has inundated the bays all across the island, from cocktails to high-teen gators. A good number of tiderunner weakfish were reported this week on the new moon morning tides.

Some huge bunker pods are being observed here-and-there across the island, and in the surf zone. The east end waters are filled with sand eels and bay anchovies. All this bait present coming into mid-June creates promising prospects for some wild, big-fish action.

Nassau County

Reports of huge striped bass continue to pour into Bay Park Fishing Station in Wantagh. Every single day, fishermen are trolling up fish weighing at least 33 pounds. This past Saturday morning, Don Eichin of “Hey Jude” was fishing off the Church in 55 feet of water when a 53-pound striper inhaled his yellow/white TGT bunker spoon. That was the largest striper weighed into Bay Park this season, until this past Monday when Joe Masone of “Debra” weighed in a fish a pound more!

The 54-pound striper Joe caught came on a Tony Maja green/chartreuse bunker spoon in 55 feet of water south of Debs. This fish tied the all-time record for striped bass at Bay Park Fishing Station. Another exciting catch was made this past Saturday by Mike, Jack, Jeremy & Courtney of “Hannah Gray”. Fishing with bunker in 200 feet of water at the Mudhole, they reeled up a 312-pound thresher shark for Bay Park’s first shark of the season.

Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin says it’s been an interesting week. Everyone who is fishing for bluefish is doing very well. The back bays are filled with them. Captain John McMurray has been fishing right in the canal outside his home and catching fish into the high teens. Not a bad backyard! It’s a similar story on the north shore, just with more stripers there, feeding on sand eels. Anglers fishing on the flats for stripers are doing well. The Carmans River is producing well in the evening for anglers casting sulfur dry flies. Paul fished the Peconic this week and caught everything from bluegills to pickerel to bass. He and I chatted about the awesome freshwater fishing opportunities on Long Island. There are some great warm water fisheries here, some of which hold ten pound largemouth, teen-sized walleye, three-foot pickerel, 40-pound carp. If you’re never targeting freshwater, you are missing out!

Theo at Causeway Bait & Tackle in Wantagh, clued me into the awesome liveline bite occurring along the central south shore. People are catching big fish just off of Fire Island. One customer weighed in a 51-pound striper, caught on a spoon off Long Beach. Bluefish are invading the shoreline every morning; they’re seemingly endless and come in all sizes. There is a fluke bite in the ocean, centered around the Hempstead Reef.

Kathy at Freeport Bait & Tackle also made mention of the infinite bluefish. They’re everywhere! There’s so many, that the number of striper catches decreased. I can’t say whether the following observation is due to the blues as well, but the fluke bite has also shut off in that area. Stripers are coming from the same spots like Bay Park and the Meadowbrook bridge. One customer alerted Kathy to a giant pod of bunker hanging outside of Jones Inlet. There did not appear to be any fish harassing them, but the observer said they were so dense you could walk across them. That’s good news with big stripers in town.

The only people she’s heard of catching stripers are those fishing the AB Reef in 65 feet of water. The Hudson Anglers shark tournament occurs on the Saturday before Father’s Day, and Freeport Bait & Tackle can supply you with whatever gear you need to compete. The shop is open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. except Wednesday when they open at noon.

Suffolk County

There’s been promising news from the shop regulars at Lindenhurst Bait & Tackle. The Ocean Beach weakfish bite continues on the South side of the Great South Bay. Sandworms and soft plastics are working well during the turn of either tide. Rich Pepa hooked into several on Sunday and boated a healthy four pounder while his son Gianni caught a few kingfish to 1.2 pounds. The day before they had dozens of bluefish to 6-pounds. and a bunch of kingfish. On Sunday the “Schaeffer City” crew of S.I.F.C. members Bob Karman, Hank Mathes, Joe Karman, and Dan Jorgenson drifted outside Jones Inlet. Dan noted a “tough pick” that ended in four keeper fluke to 23.5 inches. The “Lana Ann” crew of Joe Tyminski, Joe Jr., Pete Donovan, and Chris trolled up two big striped bass in the thirties on Sunday and several other bass into the high forties were taken by other anglers. The bunker masses are right outside Fire Island Inlet and have been holding medium sized bluefish by the thousands with plenty of big striped bass mixed in. Drew Maniscalco set out for bass on Saturday and found loads of “cocktails”. Drew has been doing well on the blowfish scene, scoring 37 for the table. Anglers are working hard to find fluke but have noticed low numbers in most of the good areas.

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle in Oakdale says the local fishing is great. There is a big school of 30-60-pound stripers that anglers are targeting in the ocean. The biggest one weighed in was Joe Lore’s 58.8 pounder, taken on a live-lined bunker. Kelly Hahn also broke 50, taking a 51.5-pound bass, on a live-lined bunker. Other anglers are also finding success live-lining bunker, using either the snag-and-drop method or a bridle rig. 15-25-pound fish have also been caught running the bays, so surf anglers can potentially get in on some of the better fish.

There are some nice weakfish being taken on the fast early morning tides. Successful anglers are using small bucktails tipped with small Gulps and/or jelly worms. There are plenty of fish from six-to -nine pounds.

Big fluke are in the bays, channels, and near the bridges. Gulp on jigheads and bucktails with hi-lo rigs are enticing the doormats. The Carmans River has been great at low light. Bill has caught many trout on dry flies, utilizing the Parachute Adams and Mayfly patterns. Dropper-nymph techniques have also been successful, with the pheasant tail being the nymph-of-choice.
You can’t go wrong in the lakes. All the fish are post-spawn now and eager to chow, especially the big bluegills. Yellow Perch are schooled, taking worms and flies. Largemouth are nailing topwater lures, jigs and swim shads, just post-spawn.

Ed at Warrens in Aquebogue said the porgy fishing is great out east. Fluke fishing is hit-or-miss, with some fish being found in Shinnecock. They’re still getting fish at Greenlawn, but not a lot. Fluke are starting to show in the sound, but again, not a lot. It’s been a tough fluke year.
Striper fishing is picking up. There is a daytime bite in plum gut on the incoming tide. There are plenty of sea robins.

Rick at Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports that the Fishers Island chain is starting to hold some keeper bass, and a nice shot of 4 to 6 lb bluefish have moved into Gardiners Bay. Cherry Harbor has lit up with some nice sized Porgies. We are seeing some better reports on the Fluke fishing with more keeper sized fluke filtering into Gardiner’s bay. Montauk has also had some nice catches of BIG fluke this week.

The Peconics are still holding some quality fish with a mix of bass, bluefish and weakfish at better spots and tides. Porgies are abundant and some nice size Fluke are being reported at the Greenlawns and North of Shelter Island. I have not heard of any Fluke reports out in Eastern LI Sound yet, but that fishery should be firing up any time.

Striper surfcasting guide Bernie Bass tells me the south shore beaches, especially the east end, have been seeing plenty of action during both the day and night tides. The inlets are producing good numbers of stripers as well. The top of the tide is the time to fish, two hours before and after high slack. The night tides have produced the better quality fish. Bluefish continue to raze tackle in the bays, inlets, and out front. Bernie observed a ton of sand eels along the outer beaches, and says the fish have been feeding on them right along the beach lip. My friend Nico Yektai confirmed that prior statement yesterday by catching a bunch of chunky local bass making it over the 28-inch mark, caught right on the beach lip. Bunker pods are starting to consistently pop up as well.

Captain Chris Albronda, first mate of Double D Charters in Montauk, paints an awesome picture for the east end. Fishing is getting on par with what Montauk is all about. Doormat fluke are being caught, and some are weighing double digits. XXL black sea bass is by catch every day. The twenty pound class of striped bass has moved in with tons of shorts to be caught in the surf or by boat. The bluefish are ranging from cocktail to 15 pounds, eating a variety of baits from squid to sand eels to bay anchovies. There are reports of bluefin tuna in the Butterfish Hole that are being very finicky; most of the bites are at sunrise, from fish between 40 and 90 pounds. A few lucky folks have even hooked up with 200 pounders. Charters are booking up quickly, with a limited amount of days available… book soon before you’re left with the leftovers.
Chris has been rigging a camera to his fishing line during his charters. The videos are great quality, and he has tons of footage that can be very educational for those willing to dissect it, especially in regards to fluke. Find them on his instagram page, @montauk_fishing.

Last but most certainly not least is Kenny’s report from Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor. Our conversation floored me. Kenny says the peconics are full of fish. He has a few customers catching lots of fish on 3-5 ounce jig heads with chartreuse shad bodies. A lot of the nicer fish are at Jessups. If you can fish an incoming tide at the end of the day as the light fades, you will get into a good bite. There are a lot of stripers and weakfish to 26 inches.
Kenny’s friend was fluke fishing in very deep water back there and nailed three fluke in a row, all above 26 inches, all in one drift. On Sunday morning, a customer called from Three Mile Harbor and informed Kenny that a giant school of tailing bluefish were moving west into the bay.
The reports of oversized porgies are still pouring in from the peconics.

Kenny confirms Capt. Albronda’s assertion that the big black sea bass are extremely numerous.
Now here’s where it gets crazy. John Schlowinski caught a huge bonito in the Shinnecock Inlet this week. I’ve seen a lot of bonito come out of that waterway, but never one this big, and I’ve never seen one here in the spring (not to say it doesn’t happen).

The Shinnecock Inlet also gave up a five-foot-long sturgeon to a respectful angler who caught and released the fish, then called the DEC to report his catch. Those are two unforgettable catches for two avid anglers.

Kenny also informed me of some happenings in New Jersey, where a few houndfish were caught off IBSP. Two fish were five feet long, and one was four feet long. Kenny says these hound fish are typically found in the tropics. Let’s move back to LI though, because we’re not finished with the awesomeness.

Some of Kenny’s customers embarked upon the 25-30 mile trek out to the Coimbra wreck, to try and find some bluefin tuna. For that kind of fishing, you keep your eyes peeled during the long trip out, looking for working birds and splashing fish. One of the dead giveaways that there’s tuna present is the presence of dolphins and whales. They didn’t see a single sign of life for the first 11 miles. Once they hit mile 12, they discovered paradise. For the next 15 miles out to the wreck, they saw countless 50-60 pound bluefin tuna jumping clear out of the water. The high from that trip should last those guys the rest of the year.

If all that info doesn’t get you excited, check your pulse. The waters are a’changin’, and its only going to get more radical.

Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Long Island!

Long Island Fishing Forecast

I’ll keep this short and sweet. It’s time to fish hard.

Big bass are on the move. Around this time last year, I watched 60-pound striped bass breach on bunker just out of casting distance. I fished as hard as I could that week, while still fulfilling my work obligations. During work one morning, I missed the bite of a lifetime. I ditched work ASAP, and literally showed up minutes late. My friend Stephen Lobosco’s hands were still shaking from the epic experience when I arrived. You can read about that bite in his article in the June issue of On The Water.

That’s what I am looking out for now. I won’t take my eyes off the ocean for more than twenty minutes during daylight for the next two weeks. I work/live on the ocean, so that’s possible for me, and necessary. Get to the beach as often as possible. If you have a feeling, ACT upon it. I’ll be fishing good rips and inlets at night if nothing materializes during the day. Something glorious will happen. Follow me on instagram/youtube at @SouthForkSalt for a chance to see it unfold, and for some video from last year’s epic bite… Tight lines.

Before I sign off, I just want to encourage everybody to promote catch and release. I’m new to writing these fishing reports, but I’ve seen the Montauk June/July boat reports for years, where literally dozens of big breeder fish are killed every morning and afternoon. Locals can watch the dumpsters by the docks, filled with breeder bass carcasses, discarded twice a day because they fill up so quickly. Unfortunately, I can see now that it is not restricted to Montauk. These guys weighing in large bass have just experienced a day that won’t soon leave their memory, and a story to last a lifetime; but an experience is more profound than a memory, or even its story. If too many of these giant bass are harvested, which happens regularly, there won’t be any more experiences to have. Virginia didn’t cancel their trophy season for no reason.

I’d encourage all boat captains to recognize that a striper killed today is one that can never be caught again. It is in your long-term best interest to promote catch and release on your boat.
Thank you, everybody, for reading.