Pictured Above: A nice fluke taken by one of Stu Paterson’s campers on Northport Charters.
Sharks in the Sound! Seabass and fluke provided the easiest fishing and the most trophies this week. Some big weakfish are perusing the Peconics. Snappers are in most back bays. Cocktails and bigger bluefish are terrorizing bunker pods on the north and south shore.
Big stripers come to those putting in the time, especially at night on the east end with big baits. Spanish mackerel and bonito are being caught around the east end. The offshore scene is amazing, whether you’re going for bluefin, yellowfin or bigeye tuna. The canyon bite is on fire. Sharks are also providing awesome action, with more and more makos and threshers being caught. The porgies still just won’t quit.
Nassau County
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin tells me the saltwater fishing has been slowing down. The one mainstay this year, though, has been bluefish. There are lots of them piled up in the back bays. They’re on the small side, cocktails. They haven’t shown like this in the past few years, so Paul is having a great time with them. Snappers are also showing up at the piers.
Tim O’Rourke is fishing the rips in Montauk and tells Paul that there’s ALSO lots of blues there. There are still smaller bass in the rocks, but that is slowing down a bit. Some small fish are hanging in the back bays, feeding on spearing. There are bigger bass on the north fork, hanging underneath the bunker schools. You could also find some big bluefish up there.
Locally, the fluke that are coming up are mostly shorts, and they’re mixed in with sea robins.
On the freshwater side, the spring creeks on Long Island are fishing well. Paul says “be there in the evening.” The Connetquot runs an evening session, and he says that has been good. If you can get your fly through the weeds in the local ponds, you can bend the rod on plenty of panfish and bluegills.
Paul’s still hosting Sunday “cast and catch” classes at McDonald Pond in Rockville Centre for the rest of the summer.
All the rivers upstate dropped this week. They were all fishable over the weekend, but now the rivers are low and hot again. Paul says if you’re going upstate, fish for the smallmouth, not the trout.
Kathy at Freeport Bait & Tackle says the snappers are in! Use a snapper popper with a small spearing trailing behind on a small hook. Kathy’s friend and his young son Grady were out fishing in the State Channel between Meadowbrook and Wantagh bridges this week and got into some nice-sized triggerfish. They also took some fluke from the area.
People are still catching lots of fluke; it’s the same story we’ve been hearing all year, with lots of shorts bending the rod for consistent action. The Reynolds Channel, near Point Lookout, and State Channel are productive fluke grounds these days. Porgies are also going strong as well. This year’s porgy bite is ceaseless! Try for them on the north shore around Bayville, Theodore Roosevelt Park in Oyster Bay, Sunken Meadow and Caumsett. Sandworms and bloodworms are the bait of choice.
Out in the ocean, anglers are doing very well on the reefs and the Cholera bank. They’re picking up lots of porgies out there, and especially sea bass. Hempstead and McAllister Reefs are producing well for those bottom species. A little farther out at the Cholera banks, you stand a chance of getting a really awesome mixed bag. Tuna isn’t out of the question there.
Tuna, fluke and sea bass filled the report section at Bay Park Fishing Station in Wantagh. The “On the Hunt” crew sailed out to the Coimbra and landed a 72 pound bluefin tuna. The same day, Captains Kenny Owens and Danny Gilmour of “Fighting Irish” took some clients out to the Coimbra and had seven bluefin tuna: three came on the troll, and four were jigged up on gold hammered jigs from 8-12 ounces. The largest fish was 51 inches. Mike Redmond, Mike Cotter, and Brian Snee of “Lil’ Mist III” fished for fluke at the AB reef and pulled up over 30 fish, with three keepers in the three pound class. A few nice sized sea bass and porgies also hit the deck. Baby bunker worked well, as did spearing and squid, but the bait of the day was the salmon Gulp 6-inch grubs.
Nick Savene of “No Time Charters” sailed a crew to the Coimbra on Friday and trolled ten small bluefin tuna on spreader bars and cedar jigs, then jigged a 100 pound bluefin on a seven ounce Silver Stingo PBJ jig. On Saturday, Nick took Jacob Raff to the Mudhole and had good bluefin action there chunking bait. Captain Tom Walls of “Miss Kara Jean” fished by the AB Reef using spearing and squid and pulled up a bunch of short fluke with two keepers. Rich Logan of “No Time” also fished the AB Reef, and he pulled up a sea bass weighing over four pounds.
Jon Salli, Keith Lagatta, and Greg Kavazanjian of “Da Prowla” went shark fishing in 120 feet of water outside of Debs, using live bunker for bait, and brought in a 460-pound thresher.
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Suffolk County
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale says the name of the game is fluke and sea bass! On these hot summer days, those fish are biting very well. Fluke are all over the bay in impressive numbers. There are lots of shorts, providing plenty of action, and some monsters are hidden in the mix from 5-8 pounds. Eddie B. landed a nice 6.6 pound flatty while aboard “The Kraken” on Saturday. Bucktails, Gulp grubs, sandeels, and the classic squid/spearing combo are doing work. Out in the ocean, fluke can be caught along the drop-offs, and near the wrecks and reefs. Bring fluke balls, heavy bucktails, whole squid, and Peruvian smelt if you are targeting these ocean dwelling doormats.
Seabass are around in big numbers and size. Limits come easily, and some 5-7 pound knuckleheads have been coming over the rails. Clams on shop rigs have been doing the trick for Ryan Murphy, who landed a monster 6.45 pound sea bass on Friday while fishing an offshore wreck. Bluefish are still marauding the jetties and canals, especially the ones a bit further east. Diamond jigs, popping plugs and SP minnows have been getting crushed. Snappers are starting to take over the town docks, chomping on spearing and snapper poppers.
Some kingfish and big blue claw crabs are also finding their way from the water to some customers’ dinner plates.
On the freshwater front, the bass action was consistent this week. Some real nice fish were caught in the early mornings and evenings. Topwater lures like mice, frogs, poppers and poppers are great for those times of day. After the sun rises, slow down your presentation and use a Senko or jig. Nine-year-old Stevie Stokes caught an impressive 16-inch largemouth on Sunday morning in the pads. Vinny Cagnina landed three bass in the 1-1.5 pound range on Senkos Sunday morning as well. Pickerel are out lurking, waiting for a meal to swim by; swim jigs, topwater lures, and tins will entice them.
Sunfish and perch are schooled up and are a blast on ultralight tackle. They’re great fish to target when introducing children to fishing. Check out the shop’s facebook/instagram page @chasingtailsbait for photos and updates during the week!
Rick Drew of Harbor Marina of East Hampton says that classic mid-summer conditions prevail, with porgies and sea bass being the most consistent players in the deeper, rockier bottom sections of the eastern LI Sound and Gardiners Bay. Fluking has been hit-or-miss locally. Bluefish are in the deeper rips of the Fishers Island chain and those intrepid fishermen working the night tides are picking up a few nice Striped Bass. The August moon should start to switch things up for the better. Snapper blues and blowfish are being caught in the local harbors, and some boats are running east to Montauk for a shot at the ocean fluke bite.
Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters got into some nice fish this week chartering his fishing clients and campers. They had fluke to five pounds and porgies to three pounds, as well as some keeper sea bass and cocktail bluefish. Everyone had a great time bending the rod.
Justin at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport says there are lots of fluke being caught by the mouth of Sand City. There’s a small inlet by Huntington Bay and buoy 17 that has been very productive. There are lots of shorts, but one customer brought in a 24 incher to weigh. It’s very tide dependent, and you’d do best focusing on the tops of the incoming and outgoing.
All stages of bluefish are in, with snappers eating snapper poppers and snapper zappers with spearing. Check for them along piers and beaches.
Cocktail blues are nowhere specific, but they’re tailing the bunker pods. If you can find those pods, try livelining. You might just get a bigger bluefish by doing this. It’s the same old story with the stripers: lots of small ones around the area, at an average of 22 inches. Find them in and around the Triangle.
It’s been a wonderful year for porgy fishermen, who are still catching them just about everywhere you’d expect. Caumsett, Target Rock, the brush pile and stacks are all producing lots of scup. The bait of choice is sandworms, but if you can’t find any your next best bet would be clam strips. With the new moon occurring last night, Justin expects the fishing to pick up all around, so make time to get out there!
Chris at Blue Water Lures in Southold hasn’t been hearing about too many big stripers lately. He thinks it is because of the multiple shark sightings in the LI Sound this week. Three threshers and a sand tiger were spotted within a rock’s throw from the beach. One swam through four feet of water where swimmers had been bathing just a short while prior. Seals have also taken over the Plum Island area, which could be another explanation for the lack of big stripers.
The fluking has been pretty good though. Chris says that out of every ten fish in the bay, anglers can pick one or two keepers. The favored rig is a two-ounce pink bucktail with a pink bucktail teaser on a dropper rig above it. One angler had a 9.6 pounder on that rig in Noyack Bay. There are also a decent amount of 5-8 pound fish being taken on squid-spearing combos.
There are some nice sea bass being caught in the Sound, but that has slowed down a bit as well. There are lots of shorts now. Same story with the porgies, although 12-15 inch fish can still be found.
Plum Gut is loaded with cocktail blues. Occasionally you’ll pull a striper out of there during the day also. White bucktails, squid imitations, and diamond jigs are doing the heavy lifting.
There are still a ton of weakfish in Noyack Bay. There are some nice ones too, at 6-10 pounds. Once the tide peters out there, it becomes tough to keep the blowfish off your line. Kingfish are also being taken there. The ticket for catching all of these fish is using hook-bait squid.
Move a tiny bit east to the south ferry, and you’ll likely find some Spanish mackerel. These fish showed there around the end of August last year, so their early arrival has been a welcome surprise. Bonito can often be found in the mix with them.
Here’s a crazy story: one angler was fishing from a rock near Horton’s. He caught a bluefish and put it on a stringer to bring home for dinner. Some casts later, the bluefish started to go nuts. Before the angler even knew what was going on, he saw a thresher shark swim off with a fat chunk of his bluefish. The angler waited on that rock for four hours before swimming back to shore.
Most of the fish being taken right now are by boat fishermen. It has been tough for the shore-based guys, and the fly guys. Those putting in ample time are reaping the rewards for their effort though. It ain’t easy, but that’s what surfcasting is all about. There are more bass being caught, but they’re not big. The main north fork haunts are producing the best fish. Mt. Sinai is one spot that has potential for big fish. One angler took a near-thirty pounder there using a white super strike popper this week.
Jessups, seven steps, and cable crossing are good honey holes to check. Don’t forget about Horton’s either. Blue claws are starting to get going, with more being caught in traps.
Chris is repairing rods and reels regularly and tying lures every day. With albie season just around the corner, he’s making sure he’s stocked up on flies for them. He’s an excellent tyer so definitely pick some of those up before the season starts around September!
Chris at Westlake Marina in Montauk saw a nice fluke come in this Sunday weighing 11.75 pounds. It was caught by 90 year old Ray Janovic on the “My Reene.” The fluking on the north side has been picking up. Guys are fishing in deep water (~100 feet) by the outer Shagwong buoy. The seabass has been the hot ticket this week. There’s a lot of nice ones scattered all over the north and south side. Scup are also everywhere.
Striped Bass fishing has been most productive at night on the flood tide. The best fishing is done using eels. They are still seeing quite a few 40 pounders come in. There are some small fish during the daytime, but not many. There have been some nice catches of cod coming from anglers who know their summer grounds.
The offshore scene continues to provide awesome fishing this year. There are lots of small makos being released; some guys catch 3-5 a day. There have been some nice threshers around 300 pounds. There are blue sharks as well, but they haven’t been a nuisance.
The canyon scene has been great this year, with lots of yellowfin tuna in a variety of sizes. One lucky angler dressed one out at 80 pounds.
There have been lots of bigeyes in the low hundred-pound range, with some going to 250 pounds. Anglers are not seeing the same number of small bigeyes that were being caught last year. Anglers are excited for the albacore to show up this month. A number of blue and white marlin have been caught at the canyon as well! The water’s been hot there. A few wahoo have been taken, but not many. The Mahi are kind of late to the show, but there are some nice ones being taken by the shark guys right now.
For captain Chris Albronda, first mate of Double D Charters in Montauk, bottom fish have been the main target this week. He’s been focusing on the larger sea bass with his clients and putting them on limits of big fish to five pounds. They’ve been getting some big ones on diamond jigs.
Double digit fluke are still being taken, and anglers are pulling their limits on all day trips.
Some striped bass are being caught during the daytime on the flood.
Some very large porgies have hit the deck this week. Offshore, he’s been seeing plenty of blue sharks, makos, threshers, hammerheads, and a few brown sharks getting hooked in the slick.
Adam Sandler has been getting out to a south shore inlet this week, on the hunt for exotic species. He found great success, and even better sashimi, when he hooked into a few triggerfish and bonito that he took home for dinner. The bonito’s stomach was filled with either small bay anchovies or spearing. I’m going to go on that tip today and try to hook some on the fly rod. They’ve been pretty big this year!
It’s trophy season for Matt Broderick, one of Long Island’s finest surfcasters. He tells me there’s plenty of small fish in the inlets, such as bass and cocktail blues. Triggers and porgies have a heavy presence in there as well. He is targeting the bigger bass to the east though. It is a grind but if you put in the time, you may just be rewarded with a trophy-sized striped bass, like he was this earlier this week. He had one striper that went better than 50 inches, estimated to be in the high 40s, possibly even 50 pounds. The big girls are taking darters and eels.
Matt found some success in the freshwater too, with a big ol’ largemouth that took a Senko. Give him a follow on Instagram, @MattBroderickLiFishing, to see some catches that will make your jaw drop.
Long Island Fishing Forecast
Coming off this new moon, you’re going to want to target the nighttime stripers. It’s trophy season here on the east end, and the three days before and after the moon present prime tides for the biggest fish of the year. With all the bunker pods I’ve been seeing this week, I can only imagine the big girls are chowing down on these huge baits. Beware though, this fishing isn’t for the lazy. You might just get one chance at one big fish, and if you blow it, you probably won’t get another. That’s the nature of the August beast, especially as this fishery declines. As August sets in, we’ll experience cooler nights and mornings. Those will be excellent times to fish. One of my favorite methods is to pencil pop around first light and sunrise.
We are just coming off an east swell, so the water has been a little weird this week. Long period swells, and lots of water up front made it too hard to keep my baited sand fleas in the strike zone of the beach lip, so I tried other methods. I especially like tins during east swells. So six days ago I was fishing the open beach in the AM, catching stripers on deadly dicks. I had seen small bait nervously running along the coast, just within casting distance so I was trying to figure out what was chasing them so quickly along the beach. Once the bait disappeared I began blind casting, and I hooked into a sea robin. It felt like a big clump of seaweed as I dragged it in from far out. Fun. When the fish was about halfway in, I spotted small pelagics breaching just 20 feet from the shore, right behind the breakers. I figured they were either false albacore or bullet mackerel; either way I was stoked. They blitzed for about 5 seconds as I attempted to quickly release the sea robin. Murphy’s Law provided me with a deeply buried treble in the sea robin’s lip, so I missed the blitz. I fruitlessly casted for another half hour, never seeing them again. Heartbroken me now cannot wait for these speedsters to show up in late August or September. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up early, as have many of our local species this year.
We’ve got what looks like a very consistent week of weather coming up. Low 80 degree days, with a recurring slight chance of rain. Nights will drop to the mid-60s. It’s going to be comfortable at night, but eerily calm. Those always feel like the fishiest conditions to me. You can just feel the monsters lurking amidst the deafening silence. I’ll spend some time on the rocks in Montauk casting my giant bucktails and Wadd needles, hoping for one of those monstrous strikes.
It is also a great time to whip out some light tackle (ideally a fly rod) and not worry about those elusive big fish. It’s a lot of fun catching small fish when using appropriate tackle. Get lemons, make lemonade.
Tight lines everyone!
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