Long Island Fishing Report – October 3, 2019

Long Island Fishing Report

Bigger bass are hitting the suds on the east end. The best weakfish bite in years is occurring. Fluke season closed with some excellent fish taken. Albies all around the island. Bonito are still in certain areas. Long Island Sound is lit up with life. One enormous blowfish was caught, and there are plenty of size-able ones around. Still some good porgies around.

Nassau County

Robert at LI Outdoorsman in Rockville Centre says there’s a lot of bass around. It’s a hot bite for both surf and boat anglers. Most fish are schoolies, with some fish going 28-30 inches. The back bays are very active due to the copious bait. There is a lot of peanut bunker and mullet back there.

There are also lots of bluefish around – large cocktails. Robert says this is the year of the blowfish. There’s a ton of good ones around. Sean Malone went out in his kayak the other day and caught over a dozen, all over 12 inches. This is great action for the kids, so get them on it while you still can!

There are a good amount of bonito, and nice-sized false albacore for surf and boat anglers alike. Jones Inlet has been a productive area.

Seabass and porgies are still plentiful around the island as well. Robert just got a report of some three pounders getting caught out east near Montauk. Robert’s dad has been hitting the marshes about every other day and getting into bass on the popper. Lots of good action to be had in the bays.

Kathy at Freeport Bait and Tackle says that the striper action is starting to heat up. People are catching bass more frequently, and there are bigger fish amongst the schools. Meadowbrook Bridge is a good spot to get them. There are even a few making their way into Freeport Creek, just behind the shop.

There’s a lot of peanut bunker back up in the creeks, and the snappers are gorging on them, growing into cocktails. Blue claw crabs can be gotten in the creeks as well. A good spot for them is Milburn creek.

Kathy has also heard of porgies being caught locally, at the Jones Beach Pier and Bay Park. Stripers can be caught at Bay Park as well. Blowfish have been especially prevalent as of late.

Captain Ray of Carolann P Charters fished last weekend 37 miles southeast of Jones Inlet. There he picked up a 180-pound mako using an albie filet. The next day he went back to the same general area and caught-and-released two makos; one was a 150-pound female, and the other was a 100-pound male.

People are gearing up for blackfish, chomping at the bit. Kathy has the goods for that, and for surfcasting. She’s got green crabs, live eels, and a large assortment of tackle. If you’re going for big bass or blackfish, definitely stop into the shop.

Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside heard of some awesome trips this week. On Sunday, Lloyd, Paul, Alan, Andrew and Spencer chummed the outgoing tide with clams. They caught 13 striped bass on light tackle that morning and released them all.

Capt. Joey Leggio fished the Rockaway Reef on Sunday with Sean, Jack, Joe and Jay. They did a half-day of bottom fishing and got a heck of a haul. They caught 40 porgies, three seabass, and two trigger fish. Fresh clams were the ticket.

On Monday Captain Jack and the “SS Spanky” crew fished 1/4 mile south of Bay Park. Using a hi-lo rig tipped with a white teaser and orange Gulp, Jimmy reeled in a 26-inch, 10.7 pound smooth pufferfish. On Tuesday, Lil’ Stevie closed out his fluke fishing season on the “Lady Maureen” with a 6.2 pounder.

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Suffolk County

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale says weakfish fever has hit the local anglers hard. There hasn’t been this good of a weakfish run in many years, and lots of people are taking advantage. Big schools are running around the early morning tides, smashing up baitfish. They are biting small bucktails and jigs like Bass Assassins. Anglers have reported fifty fish days.
Fluke season closed with a bang, as several anglers had 4 to 6-pound flatties inside the bay during the final weekend.

Albies, Spanish mackerel, bonito and false amberjacks are still running around the ocean, whacking resin jigs. The local docks are still loaded with snappers, and kingfish are making rounds as well. Kingfish larger than a pound have been caught locally. Crabbing still persists as well!

Stripers are out there to the east, and on bucktail/jig bites pretty consistently. Bill had bass up to 24 inches hit his white Asgard bucktail Friday night. Vance Cagnina landed a 20-inch bass Saturday night on the bucktail.

In the freshwater, largemouth are prowling for baitfish. This is a great time to throw swimsuits, spinners, poppers and crank baits. Top water options are viable all throughout the day. Frogs, poppers, ploppers and wake baits are all getting smashed up. Senkos are always a great lure to fall back on if nothing else is working. The shop has everything you could need.

Will Ganshaw had fish to three pounds on swimsuits. Jacob Minerva had a bass around the 4-pound mark on a Jackall Gavacho frog. Panfish are schooled and fired up, slurping worms and crushing small jigs. Pickerel are on the move as well, looking for some good-sized meals. Trout action has been picking up with the cooler weather of late. Trout magnets, inline spinners, worms and dough balls will all produce.

Lindenhurst Bait & Tackle says that the fluke fishing peaked during the last week of the season. On Tuesday Barry Kellogg and Chris Palinski fished the Sore Thumb area. They used XL local spearing and squid during the incoming tide to catch four keepers to 24 inches. On the same day, Rich from the shop and Jeremy Kurtz drifted East of the Robert Moses Bridge. Both tides held loads of unusually fat fluke. Jigs and teasers tipped with XL local spearing resulted in eleven keepers. Top fish were 6.16lb, 5.26lb, 5.22lb, and a 4.6 pounder.

Charlie and Diane Hofer beat ’em up again this week near the Fire Island Coast Guard Station. The duo boated four keepers to 24 inches on two separate trips.

Frank drifted the South side of the Great South Bay on Saturday with soft plastics and teaser rigs. The last of the incoming tide gave up three keepers to 25 inches. Marshall Marinace Jr. and Samantha fished the same area on Sunday and found a good pile. With basic squid and spearing rigs they put three keepers in the box to 25 inches. Meanwhile Al Ciambriell and Al Gano were into some good ones using bucktails, squid and XL spearing. The guys had loads of shorts, then caught a 5.88 pounder and 6.22 pounder.

Striped bass reports are coming in from surf and boat fishermen. Another wave of bass in the 30-40 inch range has entered areas inside the Great South Bay and State Boat Channel. Bass assassins, live eels, swim shads, fresh clam, fresh bunker and SP minnows have all been producing. There’s still an opportunity to target trigger fish, blowfish, porgies, and kingfish next to any rockpile with clam chum, fresh clam and sand worms.

Dave Flanagan of North Island Fly guide service in Smithtown says the Sound is alive! He’s coming across bass, blues, albies, and even some bonito. They are spread out all over the Sound in deep and shallow water. North of the Middle Grounds has been loaded with bait, so fishing prospects remain high. Dave’s hearing about a lot of fish up west on the Connecticut side as well.

Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters says there’s still a lot of bait in the Huntington/Northport area. Spearing, bay anchovies, peanuts and adult bunker are abundant.
Stu had a healthily mixed bag this week, with weakfish, stripers, bluefish, porgies and seabass. The bite is on and there’s lots of life!

Jeff at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays says there are loads of small bass on the beaches and in the inlet, with a few keeper-size fish to the mid-30 inches. Albies have been around when the water is clean. There is a good swordfish bite going on offshore in the Canyon, with solid tuna fishing to be found as well.

Kenny at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor hasn’t heard too many reports this week, but he did provide me with a great macro perspective on the current water.

With the weather we’re experiencing right now, he reckons Montauk is the place to be. Some surfcasters have been catching solid fish out there this past week in the evenings. The cows hanging around Block Island have started to move towards us. The water was about 69 degrees the last time he checked, so it’s not exactly “migration temps,” but we’re definitely within the feeding temperature range.

That being said, we’re approaching blackfish season with these above-average water temperatures. Kenny said the prime blackfish season has been getting later each year. It’s all very peculiar to him, because anglers are seeing good numbers of blackfish in shallow water right now despite the temperature and time of year. Kenny hit Shinnecock yesterday morning and discovered dirty water and an angry swell. The albies were not there. He said cold snaps, like the one last night, should get them into psycho-mode and spark the feed.

Rick at Harbor Marina of East Hampton says the abundant bluefish in the Gut and Race are making it difficult to get at any stripers that may be around during the day. Porgies and sea bass are still fairly abundant but moving to deeper water reefs as the water temperatures chill down. A few good reports came from anglers making the run out to Block Island for stripers and bottom fishing.

Surfcasting along the ocean beaches has been consistently good in the mornings and evenings. Nighttime outings have produced some quality fish up to forty inches for some local sharpies. It is definitely time to hit the surf.

Offshore/nearshore – the bluefin bite has fizzled, but sharking remains solid and the canyons are working for those anglers with the range to get out there.

Blackfish season opens on October 15, with the limit set at 4 fish at 16 inches.

Tanya at Westlake Marina in Montauk weighed in a 40-pound bass from the Double D yesterday. On Monday, the Double D also brought in a 6.35-pound false albacore caught by 13-year-old Henry Burgess.

Over the weekends 78.2-pound yellowfin was caught by the guys on “3 G’s”. Andrea Tese picked up spearfishing recently and took her first striper this weekend, a beast weighing in at 40.35 pounds. Tanya tells me there is still plenty of sea bass around.

Captain Chris Albronda, first mate of Double D Charters in Montauk, says the fall run is still in full swing. Albies, stripers and blues are being caught from the surf and boat.
Snappers are in the harbor; they always provide a good time.

Chris heard of multiple surf-caught thirty pounders from Paulie’s Tackle. Fluke fishing ended with a bang on the Miss Montauk, with Frank DiFede’s 15.54 pound fluke. Chris is excited to see what 2020 will bring.

Tautog, cod, and jumbo Black Sea bass season is just around the corner, and the Double D only has limited trips open. Keep your eyes out for mola mola, which are thick around the Point alongside numerous whales and dolphins.

As the heavy NE winds kicked up around sunset yesterday, my friend EJ Shiga hit a south fork sand beach. The swell, waves, sweep and rips were getting intense. He had a few schoolie stripers on a chartreuse bucktail, all about 26 inches. Then a forty incher took his jig! He landed the fish and swiftly released it. Bigger fish are here.

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

Long island Fishing Forecast

I fished hard for albies in September. I fly casted to out-of-reach hardtails almost every day before and after work. Didn’t get a single one.

This week I said forget about it, time for stripers. I chalked the albie pursuit up to an L. I fished my local open beach rips and points at sunrise, sunset, and later at night. I caught a bunch of stripes. Then one morning I noticed some unusual blitzing going on at the end of a gillnet. I sent my drone to it when a bunch of other blitzes broke out. I knew I was seeing albies; they were back to haunt me, by the thousands.

I wasn’t about to have that though. I gave them the business and landed seven. (See the drone/fishing footage here) They paid me back by straining the lifting muscles in my right shoulder, bicep and forearm. It was an incredible day, but I’ve had to take time off to recuperate.

I’m almost healed, and it’s perfect timing, as the big stripers are here in the surf. There will definitely be some big fish caught in/around the inlets this week. The real big ones are in Montauk, moving slowly but surely westward. The amount of bunker should keep them satisfied and slow-moving. The only thing you have to do is be there. Get to the beach as much as possible.

We’re getting some cooler nights in the 40s. Fish those nights. Fish every night. Look for bait sprinting out of the bays and getting destroyed along the rocks and beaches. Don’t let big surf and heavy winds deter you this week. The most turbulent weather can produce the best fishing.
I’m thinking we’ve got some blitzes coming this week. Keep your biggest lures close by.
Godspeed!