Long Island Fishing Report – September 19, 2019

Big black drum, giant Montauk fluke, and awesome Montauk blitzes. Not big fish, but lots of action. Albies, blues, bonito, stripers, and Spanish mackerel can all be had.

Mullet-fueled bass blitzes along the south shore. Incredible bluefin chunk bite, not far from shore, behind the scallop boats. Trout action picking up.

Nassau County

Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin went over to the Connetquot River on Monday with the Long Island Flyrodders. He had 2 trout in the morning on streamers, and then eight in the evening all on dry flies. All the fish were big. It’s funny there, because you’re allowed to keep three fish between 10-13 inches, but you’ll rarely (if ever) catch one that small. You’re mainly looking at fish in the upper-teens and low-twenties (if you’re lucky).

Guys have been fishing the salt a bunch in Paul’s vicinity, and they’re finding plenty of bluefish in the back bays. There are a lot of small blues, but that’s better than years past, were there weren’t really any. Some Spanish mackerel have even been found deep in the back bays.
The area doesn’t hold albies the same way Montauk or Orient might, but those with determination have been finding a few. There are also some bass in the back that Paul’s friend from Firefly Charters has been catching. Paul says that right now is the time to be out looking for them.

Kathy at Freeport Bait & Tackle says the striper tackle is flying off the shelves. There aren’t a ton of fishing being caught, but the local anglers are impatiently waiting. Squid and spearing are still flying off the shelves for the fluke; eels are being purchased for nighttime striper fishing.
For now, the locals are catching some blues that are bigger than the ones last week. The fluke are gone from the outside, but some remain inside the bays. There is a mix of short and keeper fish.

Spanish mackerel are still hanging out at the construction dock near the Coast Guard Station. They’re in there pretty thick this year! The commercial guys are starting to see lots of blackfish on the outside.

Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside received reports of some stellar bottom fishing this week. Tim Lepkowski of Krissy Waters fished in Reynolds Channel by the Lindell school using a pink and white bucktail tipped with a 6-inch pink shine Gulp grub. This setup scored him an 8.35 pound fluke.

Mike Mizvesky of “Vienna” fished the bottom at AB Reef with a salmon Gulp grub, and landed a 6.1 pound fluke. Lloyd Malsin, Paul Seiden, Dominic Luisi and George of Nansea II drifted with clams for consistent action on triggerfish, jumbo porgies, seabass, ling, fluke and even a flounder. A dozen blowfish were landed as well.

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Suffolk County

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale says the albies are in! Epoxy jigs are the flavor of the week for spinners, and fly guys are doing well with surf candies in the inlets. Spanish mackerel, bonito, and false amberjacks have been getting caught as well. It’s already been an incredible season for pelagics.

Jake Farino had albies all weekend and a few Spanish macks as well, on pink Joe Baggs resin jigs. Anthony Savino had albies and Spanish mackerel on Saturday.

Weakfish have been running the tides as well, taking bass assassins and small bucktails. Jacob Minerva had a bunch of weakfish up to 18 inches on pink bass assassins this weekend.
The bay still has loads of short fluke, with a bunch of nice 4-6 pounders in the mix. Bucktails with Gulp, or squid/spearing combo should do the trick.

Sea bass action on the reefs and wrecks is on fire, with nice fish taking clams and jigs. Ling and some big fluke are hanging around there as well.

The town docks are still holding lots of snappers, which will take a snapper popper, kastmaster, or spearing on a hook. Kingfish have been making their rounds at the docks as well.

A last-minute report came in from Steve Lund, who saw his fish finder light up when he went out yesterday. He dropped a big jig to the bottom and hooked into a huge fish… shortly after, he pulled a huge BLACK DRUM onto his deck! The fish weighed in at 50 pounds on the dot. Nice job Steve!

In the sweet water, the fall transition has begun, meaning largemouth bass are on the move looking for baitfish. Swimbaits, crank baits, rattle traps and swim jigs will all work. Topwater frogs, walkers, poppers and poppers are viable daytime lures as well. Senkos are always a good choice too.

Pickerel are hunting for shiny things and big meals, so throw them anything you’d feed a bass.

Panfish are fired up; sunfish and perch are out in big schools chewing on worms and jigs.

Trout action has begun to improve with the changing weather. Trout magnets and inlines always wrk, as well as worms and dough balls. For fly fishermen, white flies, midges and black caddis hatches have been insane. Terrestrials are a great choice for this time of year as well.

Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters got a “September surprise” last weekend on his charter while jigging for blues: a 31-inch, nine pound fluke!
There are nice blues all over the triangle off Eaton’s Neck, hanging out amongst the abundant baitfish.

The porgy bite has been awesome as well, so hit him up if you want to fill your freezer with some tasty fillets! He also has some availability for blackfish trips.

Dave Flanagan of North Island Fly guide service in Smithtown has been traveling around to stay on top of the bonito this week, and he’s been all over them. The albies are beginning to show up, mixed in with Spanish mackerel; they are right on time. He has a few open dates for local trips (Oct. 3 & 4.)

Steven at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says the surf is coming alive. There is good bottom fishing for porgies along the Sound side. There are lots of snappers along the beaches as well. Cocktail blues and lots of schoolie bass are staging around the point.
In the Bay Area, you’ve got lots of blowfish, some very nice porgies, decent weakfish, and cocktail blues on the incoming by buoy 17.

The Gut and the Race are still holding bass and blues. The sea bass bite is picking up real good now, especially around the Sound. Rocky Point, the north side of Plum, the Race, and Pigeon’s Rip are all good spots.

Blackfish are starting to come in on the shallows. Steven wishes blackfish season was open right now because it’s looking really good.

The offshore bite is awesome, with bluefin reportedly coming into water just eight miles off. Find the scallop boats, and trail them with chunks. Don’t be shy with the chunks either. Drop them down and you’ll be tight quickly. There are also makos all over out there.

Kenny at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor says Montauk has been epic. Schools of fish have been surface-feeding for almost two weeks, in a manner not seen in a decade. The numbers of fish are there, but the size is not; some anglers are landing keeper-sized fish, but these aren’t exactly the glory days.

Southampton has been awesome, with schools of fish chasing mullet along the beaches. There are albies, big blues, bass, and Spanish mackerel that have been terrorizing the bait. Shinnecock has been the epicenter of this awesome action.

Kenny says this isn’t really the migration yet. This is mostly resident fish feeding on bait. Nonetheless, the blitzes are an amazing sight to behold. In the back bays, Kenny heard of a few bass being trolled up in the ferry slip, at about 33 inches.

The bluefish back there jumped from a half-pound to two pounds, and then to eight and nine pounds. There are piles of albies at the Gut.

Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton is stoked on the tuna bite. He reports: Nothing gets the gas pumps spinning faster and hearts beating even faster at local marinas than reports of tuna within striking distance of Montauk. Boats from around the east end have been making the run south and south east to areas where scallop draggers, tuna, whales and porpoise have been seen. He has gotten verified reports of a few nice-sized bluefin tuna being caught on the chunk, rumors of yellowfin on the troll, and one report from a disheartened friend of a crew going 0/4 on giants in the area. Gearing up for tuna fishing takes time and skill, so do not hesitate to visit a good tackle shop to make sure that you are properly outfitted. It has been a while since a lot of us have been tuna fishing with any real consistency.

Near shore, the sea bass continue to dominate the bottom fishing scene, and the ocean fluke bite slowed over the past weekend; a few monster doormats were brought to the net though. Sea bass fishing remains strong around the Fishers Island chain and eastern LI Sound waters. Porgies are also abundant on certain pieces of structure in the area.

Albies have shown up in force along with small to mid-sized bluefish. Based on wind and tide, they can be found anywhere from Orient Point to the Lighthouse.

Blitzes of schoolie bass have been popping up along Montauk’s south side, mixed in with the albies and bluefish. Keeper bass have been harder to come by, pushing some anglers out to the southwest ledge of Block Island. Be aware, the Coast Guard is patrolling the area, and recreational boats have recently been boarded and ticketed for fishing outside the three-mile line. This is a federal fishing violation and can be onerous to dispose.

There are reports of keeper-sized fish within the three-mile lines on both the north and south forks and I look forward to pursuing some this weekend along with giving the tuna a good shot.

David at Westlake Marina in Montauk tells me the bluefin bite is on and it’s awesome. They are not far, about 20 miles out, and they are in the 40 to 80-pound class, with a few nineties in the mix.

The bass boys are doing their best work around Block. All the big fish are hanging there. There are a ton of fish around Montauk point, but the size isn’t here yet. One customer caught about 50 bass in one outing, with only one [barely] keeper. The albies are in around the point as well.

Bottom fishing is still pretty great. Sea bass are the main catch, and there are some very good ones around. Fluke season is nearing its end and seems to be going out with a bang. Everyone in Montauk heard about that 17.9 pound doormat. There have been some other big fish, but the fluke fishing is spotty overall.

The cod fishermen are doing pretty well. David says it’s worth going. David and I talked about the massive schools of bunker along the sand beaches, from Napeague to Southampton. Five years ago, around this time, it was the same situation, but the bunker had tons of big bass and blues underneath them. We are hoping the bunker schools stick around for those fishes’ arrival. For now, there isn’t anything harassing them except for the seagulls flying above.

Captain Chris Albronda, first mate of Double D Charters in Montauk, says that striped bass fishing is back on par with fall runs of the past, with blitzes taking place from Jones’ to Gurneys. Bluefish, false albacore, bonito, Spanish mackerel, and keeper stripers are all among the ruckus.

Bluefin tuna are being caught as close as the inner butterfish hole. They are being taken on jigs, chunks, and a few on the troll. There are makos and threshers in that mix.
Bottom fishing is producing quality fluke. One angler had a 34-inch, 17.9 pound fluke while fishing off the Miss Montauk. There are some monster scup around, and the sea bass are still pretty huge. Make sure you get some meat before the season closes!

I fished a bunch with Pete Leary this past weekend, trying to get him his first albie on the fly. As soon as I left him, taking the bad luck with me, he got his first AND second albie at Shinnecock. Congrats Pete!

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Long Island Fishing Forecast

The bait is here, and so are the fish. We want the big fish though. I’m thinking we’ll see some big stripers get caught in the following week. The mullet run can usually be counted upon to produce one’s first big fall bass, and I’ve been seeing a lot of mullet-fueled blitzes. I know my favorite spot and conditions for locating these big girls eating mullet, so I’ll be putting stock into that.

I’m sure the albie action will remain strong. I’m sure the crowd action will remain even stronger. It’s been wild at the albie spots. I’ve heard there were even fist fights (or there almost were). That’s absurd and that’s not what fishing is about. That’s why I love fly fishing. You don’t need to catch fish to have a successful day fly fishing. Steer clear of the crowds and just practice.

Keep it cordial, play it safe, and catch ‘em up. Tight lines my friends, ‘til next week.