The warm weather over the weekend woke up many of Long Island’s freshwater species.
OTW contributor Tim Regan reported excellent fishing for largemouth bass and pickerel, while other fishermen enjoy great fishing for trout, not just at Connetquot, but at other Long Island trout waters.
The headboat bottom fishing is very good, with boats reporting a mix of porgies, cod, big bergall, ling, sea bass (out of season), and silver eels. These mixed bag winter trips are a lot of fun, and usually produce plenty of fillets for the cooler. The major limiting factor is the weather. One downside, is that the out-of-season sea bass are an inevitable bycatch at many wrecks, and because they are coming from deep water, most of the sea bass don’t survive release.
Out east, cod fishing is showing signs of life. The Viking Fleet had a couple great days with fish up to 28 pounds.
Fishing Forecast for Long Island
The cold is coming back, and while that may put a damper on the bass and pickerel action, the trout and saltwater fishing should remain good. The cod out of Montauk fishing should continue throughout the winter, though this may be the peak right now, so when the weather allows, get out there!