Warmwater (exotic) species are being caught from shore. Big bluefish on both forks. Snappers are steadily moving in, all around the island. Consistent bluefin action at the wrecks, with bigger ones + yellowfin at the canyon. Targeting carp on the fly is a good option, as is topwater largemouth fishing. Ling are being caught regularly. Endless sea bass on the east end. Some HUGE ones can be found across the island. Lots of good options for kids, such as blowfish and white perch. Stripers on the night tides out east. Lots of fluke, but nothing huge. Montauk sharking is ON.
Nassau County
Robert at LI Outdoorsman in Rockville Centre says the weakfish moved into his local back bays. There’s nothing huge he’s heard of yet, but there are some keeper-sized fish around. He’s carrying a lot of sandworms these days for those who’d like to target them. His father was fluke fishing with a bucktail the other day when he landed a nice keeper weakfish. If you target them on the right tides, you’ll get them pretty good.
Blowfish just showed up. His friend was out fishing the other day and had 15-20 puffers. Anchor up, chum, and drop down for lots of action that can be great summer fun for the kids. Some exotic catches have been made recently in the surf. People are catching triggerfish on the jetties, and kingfish in the surf. On the open beach, people are throwing tins for Spanish mackerel, and the occasional cobia gets reeled in. Snappers are in, but they’re on the small side, about 5 to 6 inches.
The bluefin tuna bite is still going strong, with mostly smaller fish 50 pounds and under. The local wrecks (Coimbra, Virginia) have been producing those smaller fish consistently this year. The bigger fish are out in the canyons, swimming alongside the now-prevalent yellowfins.
The inshore fluke bite has been off this year. The better fishing is being done out at the ocean wrecks, where there are many more keepers. Robert’s dad just came back from an overnight Viking trip to Nantucket, where he had a nine-pound fluke, and many flatties over five pounds. They also did well on the cod that trip, catching fish to 15 pounds. The bait of choice was salmon-colored Gulp jigs.
Kieran Harker of the “Miss Anna” checked into Bay Park Fishing Station in Wantagh this past week after catching a 23 inch cod and a 15 inch tautog. The John Mannone Fluke Tournament was held this Saturday at Hewlett Point Yacht Club. Despite the brutal heat wave, everyone had a ton of fun. 3rd place went to John Mannone Jr. with a nice 4.05 pound fluke caught on the “April Grace.” The “Little Irish” crew fished the AB Reef and had an action-packed afternoon with three keeper fluke and about fifty throwbacks. The fish were feeding heavily on peanut bunker and Gulp grubs in the color “nuclear chicken.” Brayden Owens landed the largest fluke at 4.55 pounds, taking second place in the tournament. Sal Gambino of “Big E” finished up the day in first place with a 4.7 pound fluke. His fluke ate squid and spearing while fishing off of Sandy Hook.
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin is looking forward to some trout fishing this coming weekend. The crazy rains earlier this week cooled off all the rivers on LI and upstate, which should get the fish in feed-mode. Carp are readily taking flies these days, despite the rain’s dirtying effect on the local ponds and lakes. Paul had a new customer trying for carp for the past two weeks. He was finally able to sight fish one this week. In the salt, Paul has been hearing of fish ever since the full moon last week. Striped bass fishing is mainly a night game. They’re finding some in the rocks out east, but the main game has been big bluefish. A few of the fly fishing guides that Paul keeps in touch with are finding the big blues on the north shore and out east. From Northport to Orient, and on the South Fork in Montauk, big blues are destroying tackle. Fluke have still been providing plenty of action in the bay.
Suffolk County
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle in Oakdale tells me that sea bass season is going very well, and many anglers are scoring some big fish. The knuckleheads are here and they are hungry, readily chewing on clams and jigs. Aodhan McGuinness nailed a monster 5.5 pounder while fishing shop rigs on the Fire Island Reef.
There are some solid fluke hanging out at the reefs and wrecks too, alongside a healthy population of ling. Use fluke balls and heavy bucktail rigs, as well as whole squid and Peruvian spearing for the big ocean fluke. A bunch of really nice fluke have been caught in the bay this week. Bucktail rigs, Gulp jigs, and the classic squid/spearing combo have all been getting demolished. One customer, John, landed an eight pound doormat inside the bay, fishing squid and spearing on Saturday morning. James Farrow also had a nice flatty at 6.5 pounds come over the rails on Friday. His fish ate a white bucktail tipped with a chartreuse Gulp minnow.
A few decent bluefish have been caught roaming the inlets, jetties and canals. Jigs, bucktails, and popping plugs were their lure of choice to eat. A customer Jacky had a dozen blues over six pounds on Friday morning using jigs. Snappers are showing up at the town docks, and make for a great family fishing day.
On the freshwater side, top water bass action has been the talk of the town. Frogging in the early mornings and evenings are producing numbers and size. Jacob Minerva had almost a dozen bass on Friday after work, while working a Live Target popping frog. Bill had a 3.6 pound largemouth on Wednesday morning that took his Jackall Gavacho frog from under some thick pads. Will Ganshaw had luck early Sunday in the pads with fish over two pounds. Jigs and Senkos are great lures for this hot summer weather.
Pickerel are roaming around, smashing up topwater lures and swim jigs. They’ll certainly take anything shiny also. Bluegill and perch are schooled up and hungry, which is another great option for a family fishing day. Check out the shop’s social media pages (@ChasingTailsBait) on facebook and instagram for real-time pics and info during the week.
On Monday, Rich from Lindenhurst Bait & Tackle jumped on the “Lana Ann” with Joe Tyminski and crew and got in on some tuna action. They went 3 for 4, trolling for bluefin tuna to 60 pounds at the Coimbra. On Tuesday the “Crazy Legs” crew of Richie Kehoe, Dan Jorgenson, and Chuck Weinscheimer fished the Cholera Banks. There was decent action with six keeper sea bass, three keeper fluke to 22-inches, and a few ling hitting the deck. On Friday Dan Jorgenson jumped aboard the “Schaeffer City” with Bob Karman and Hank Mathes and fished outside Fire Island Inlet. The guys worked hard at it and ended with six keeper fluke. Meanwhile the “Hi-Hook” crew of Billy Biscardi, Joe Biscardi Jr., and Samantha Banney targeted triggers inside the Great South Bay. Joe noted steady action with porgies to 1.5 pounds, plus sea bass and triggerfish around the local reefs. Also, on Friday Mike Macaluso drifted the Coast Guard area with Capt. Patty aboard the “Yoda”. Mike tried a spoon rig with XL local spearing and was rewarded with a 7.4-pound fluke. On Saturday Christine Macaluso pulled a four-pounder in the same area. On Sunday Bob Karman, Hank Mathes, Bob Carniello and Dan Jorgenson fished the “Marine Max / Special Olympics Fluke Tournament”. Bob K. was high hook with five keepers to 6.16 pounds, adding to the nine keepers they caught for the day.
John Kramer pulled up two fluke at 4 and 5 pounds while fishing underneath the birds in the Great South Bay this Monday.
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Justin at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northportsays that the fluke scene right now is producing consistent keepers. There are less shorts to pick through to get fish 19 inches and up. Caumsett is a good spot for them, as is the Triangle.
Some nice sized porgies are hanging around the brush pile and stacks. Seabass has also remained consistent, with people still getting on some hefty ones. Squid and clam are enticing the seabass around 11b and the shipwrecks.
Striper fishing is pretty darn good, with some big girls being taken on bunker chunks. A 37 and a 44 pounder were taken this week in the Northport area. People aren’t trolling so much for them anymore, but it is certainly worth trying.
The bluefish have been providing great action as well. There are some bigger ones in the area, and a LOT more of them have showed up recently. Snappers have also showed up, and from what it sounds like, they’re a little earlier than usual.
Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters weeded through lots of shorts this week and had fluke to five pounds. He also had plenty of porgies up to three pounds, some keeper seabass, and an endless supply smaller bluefish. Stu says there’s lots of life in the water.
Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton says we are seeing classic mid-summer conditions, with local anglers enjoying good sea bass and fluke fishing to the north and east of Gardiners Island. There are lots of shorts to contend with, but some nice catches are coming up. Porgies are in their usual mid-summer haunts and there are nice-sized ones in the mix too.
Bluefish and schoolie stripers are along the Fishers Island chain, with the occasional keeper in the mix; early mornings, evenings, and nighttime are the best. Boats running east off of Montauk and Block Island are scoring on some BIG fluke and sea bass. This is the time to put together that serious mid-summer extended bottom-fishing trip or run offshore for a tuna/shark trip.
David at Westlake Marina in Montauk weighed in a 258 pound Mako on Friday. The shark was taken by Neil Hardie on the “Susie E II.” The sharking scene in Montauk has been great this year, with all sorts of species taking the bait. The “Fisherman II” saw a 10.1 pound fluke come over the rails this week. 8-year-old Samantha Rasanen was fishing on the “Double D” when she hooked and landed a 2.64 pound porgy. David said her excitement over the catch was contagious, it put a smile on everyone’s face.
The nighttime bass fishery has been phenomenal for people utilizing eels. Those anglers are catching BIG fish. The daytime fluke bite has been good, but you generally have to weed through a TON of seabass before you get your keepers. The seabass come in all sizes (mostly small), and they are absolutely ferocious. The one surf report David had for me came from a man camping in Hither Hills. He was dead sticking clams, and after picking through a few shorts, a 41-pound striped bass took his bait.
Captain Chris Albronda, first mate of Double D Charters in Montauk says the Black Sea bass and fluke have been treating him very well. Anglers are limiting out all around with sea bass up to five pounds. Double-digit fluke have been coming up here and there. Sea robin strips and bluefish strips are catching the larger fish. Porgies are large and plentiful.
Striped bass fishing has slowed somewhat during the day. Chris says the bulk of them moved east. However, those anglers targeting the night tides are still getting some big stripers.
Long Island Fishing Forecast
Expect the exotic catches to keep increasing. My friend just hit me up with a report of spanish mackerel and bonito being caught pretty regularly at a south shore inlet.
It should be a good weekend for trout fishing, due to the heavy rains earlier this week.
This is a good time for surf fishermen to hit the rocks at night. A big bass awaits the diligent angler.
It is a GREAT time to nurture a child’s love for the water. If there are any youngsters in your life, get them out there now! I’m running a fishing camp where I work, and I had seven 7-year-old girls get ecstatic when they all caught fish the other day. We chummed a little bit with crushed-up sand fleas. This brought lots of fish right up next to the pot, and all we had to do was drop down a sand worm or baitfish and wait for the bites. After many failed attempts getting these kids on fish, it felt incredible to finally bend the rod nice and easy and see their excitement. A couple of them caught white perch, which was the coveted prize, but even the tiny mummichogs were keeping them all entertained and fascinated.
Another couple good options for the kids are blowfish and porgies, if you know of any hotspots. Your local tackle shop will likely provide you with some good intel on spots and what bait to use. Sandworms have always done great for me for the porgies.
One final option that’s great for kids, and for dinner, is going for blue claw crabs! I’ve been seeing tons in my water. You can chase them around with a long-handled net or finesse them to your net with a chicken bone on a string. Either way is a blast, for both you AND the kiddos.
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