Bluefish! Vito Dilluvio caught the first bluefish I’ve seen in Long Island waters this year. They may have invaded some South Shore bays by the time you read this.
Surf Stripers – Nonstop action can be found in the suds island-wide.
Bay stripers are being taken on many different baits, including topwater plugs.
Blackfish closes today. Tog reports this week were few, but strong.
Weakfish are in the bays, but they’re very finicky.
Bait situation is RICH.
Lunker largemouth are hanging shallow in prespawn mode.
Vinny from CrossBay Bait and Tackle in Howard Beach says the striper bite is big right now. The back bays are loaded with schoolies, and the Raritan is loaded with bigger fish. There are a ton of schoolies around in general, with a decent amount of keepers in the mix.
The blackfish bite was good, but that closes today.
The flounder bite has been weak, and there haven’t been any porgy or weakfish reports. Vinny says the collective fishing effort thus far has been weak compared to years past (understandably so).
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin says his fishing has been dependent on the weather; whenever it cooperates, the fish seem to be biting. He went out on Tuesday night, which was the last time we had some calm conditions. One discovery from that trip that stands out is the number of seals around. He’s never seen so many seals up in Bay Park his whole life. The water is still pretty cold, as the warmer days are few and far between, and there is virtually no boat traffic. The seals therefore have no reason to dissipate from the area.
Despite the immense seal population, the striped bass have poured into the bays en masse. Joey Pizza came into the shop and bought his first fly rod the other day; he had a banner first session, catching two stripers.
Tim O’Rourke hasn’t been guiding, but taking his kid fishing instead and they’re finding fish on the east end. Paul says there are now stripers all over the island.
Some bluefish are also starting to show up!
There’s a ton of bait in the back bays, especially bunker.
Trout guys have been going up to Westchester to find high water levels. There are plenty of fish in those waters, but there are also plenty of anglers fishing for them. If you want to have a good, safe fishing experience up there, you’ll want to go for a little hike to find some solitude.
Kathy from Freeport Bait & Tackle had an awesome blackfish report from this Tuesday. Unfortunately, the season closes today, but Jimmy Ferchland and his son James boated a big one before the close.
They were fishing the outgoing tide in the bay, using a blackfish jig tipped with green crab, when the 9.5 pound tog hit. After a vigorous battle, young James netted the fish for his pops. Good work guys!
Surf anglers are catching schoolie bass all over the north shore. Sandworms are going pretty quickly, and Kathy reckons a bunch of those surf anglers are taking the bass on bait.
No more reports of herring have come in this week.
The small marina behind Kathy’s shop just opened, and bait is available for call-ahead orders. Give her a call today!
Matt Broderick says this past week has been decent if you were able to find shelter from the wind. Bass were plentiful by the bridges. Most of them are shorts, but anglers are finding an occasional keeper in the mix just above 28 inches.
Matt heard of some weakfish reports in the back bays. That species has been temperamental along with the weather. With the water temps going up and town, it’s rare to find them in a chewing mood.
Blackfish have been getting caught from shore on clams and crabs, but the spring season just closed. Next chance at some tog is going to be in October.
Matt has heard some reports of bluefish as well. South Jersey has had some, so he expects to see some locally in about a week.
Campsite Sportshop in Huntington says the schoolie bite has been hot in the harbors. Striped bass are regularly taking poppers, minnow plugs and flies as they journey northward. Anywhere you can find somewhat warm water, you should also find some fish willing to chew.
The freshwater scene has been good at the parks. Connetquot is fishing well, as always, and the trout seem willing to eat almost anything that you can put in front of their faces.
Dave Flanagan of “North Island Fly” guide service in Smithtown tells me there’s still consistent schoolie action on the entire central north shore, with some better bass in the mix. The bottom of the outgoing tends to be the most productive.
Dave is expecting to come across some weakfish in the next few weeks. There’s a good amount of bait already, and it seems like the spearing have already spawned once this spring.
As far as guiding goes, we are all hoping to start after May 15, but we have to wait and see. Dave is booking charters in anticipation of fishing after that date. Overall, the fishing potential seems very high for the rest of the spring.
Craig at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says the local waters are ripe with life.
Schoolie bass are up in the creeks and at Jessups. Anglers are catching them on diamond jigs, small bucktails and mojos.
Some blackfish were caught from both boat and shore this week. Guys took them using jigs.
Squid are just starting to show up, and the spearing are here. The silversides aren’t really showing themselves much, but the shop is getting local spearing. There is more bunker around than anyone knows what to do with. A few Atlantic mackerel made their way into NoFo waters this week as well.
No word on weakfish yet. The pound traps are just being set, and they usually have the earliest intel. Usually around the second week of May, after they’re done spawning, is when the reports start to pour in.
Porgies are present in their usual spots. Jessups, and buoys 16 & 17 have been productive. If you need any clams, sandworms, or chum to go for them, the shop’s got it all.
Once this weekend hits, Wego will be open daily from 7-5.
Kenny at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor says the fishing has been weird. Strange, inconsistent weather has made the local bites pretty tough. The water in the peconics got up to the low 50s, and then dropped back down to the high 40s the following day. This has not been helping the migration.
Kenny anticipates a very slow start to the fluke season as a result. When the water temps are this low, the fish just won’t eat. He can’t imagine opening week (starting May 4) is going to be very productive.
The bass bite over at Jessups has been pretty good, and it is improving. There were more keepers in the mix this week. Not huge fish, but they’re from about 28-30 inches, which is perfect table fare.
Ken heard very few porgy reports this week.
Word on the street is bluefish have moved into Moriches inlet.
Other skinny waters along the south shore have been seeing some weakfish, and that situation should improve greatly over the next few weeks.
Kenny will begin stocking fresh local bunker around the end of this week.
He is adding new inventory weekly like rods, reels and bait. He doesn’t have any local spearing or squid just yet, but he can supply you with whatever else you might need.
Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports that the East Hampton ocean beaches continue to hold schoolie bass, with a few reports of keepers to date.
The eastern harbors of Gardiners Bay are still chilly, with water temps hovering around 48 degrees last Sunday morning in 3 Mile Harbor.
There is not a lot of bait around just yet. Local baymen have been catching some nice sized porgies in their nets. It’s porgy time.
We need a few days of sunshine to warm up the bottom and get some more marine life stirring in the eastern peconics.
Stay safe and be sure to practice responsible boating and fishing during the Covid-19 crisis.
Chris from Double D Charters in Montauk says the codfish bite has become savage! Tautog fishermen are having issues getting through the cod to catch some of the decent blackfish that are present. There are a ton of cod in the mix, and they are relatively close to home.
Schoolie stripers have entered the north rips and are eating jigs. The beach bite has improved as well. We are a few weeks away from the yellow-eyed tackle testers. Chris is ready for them: he just ordered his first surf rod from Paulie’s Tackle. He placed his order through facebook and picked it up curbside at the shop. I look forward to catching some tides with you Chris!
Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball surf-fished the Montauk rocks this weekend and got into some bass. He bucktailed the north side on Saturday before first light for nothing. He reckoned the water was about 50 degrees back there. Once first light hit, he wandered down to the south side and caught 3 bass.
The next morning he fished similar hours and picked 6 schoolie bass with bucktails on the south side.
Other anglers in the SRB reported stripers in Jamaica Bay. Slightly larger fish were taken during the night tides, and consistent action was typically found around daybreak.
Brandon Sausele has been hitting the freshwater a bit, and got into some nice sized bass hanging in the shallows. They’re prespawn so their bellies are huge right now.
Vito Dilluvio caught a nice sized bluefish in the western sound yesterday. It’s the first I’ve heard of in LI waters this year. Congrats Vito! I’m waiting anxiously for their arrival on the East End.
Long Island Fishing Forecast
I haven’t caught anything besides stripers this week, but the variety of fish and foods I’ve seen on the beach this week is staggering.
There’s a bounty of big baits not far off the coast. Ospreys are doing regular flyovers with giant bunker in their talons, and I’ve seen adult bunker that were run right up on to the sand. I found a porgy washed up on the beach, and Stephen Lobosco hooked a striper with a weakfish tail protruding from its throat. Dolphins are porpoising and thrashing in close to the surf zone. Whales were seen further out in the early mornings.
A substantial quantity of smaller baits is also present, supplying a smorgasbord for stripers. Multiple people sent me videos this week of glass eels washing up on shore by the millions. I’ve experienced some phenomenal bites when that occurs. A huge variety of crustaceans and mollusks have been washing up near quality rips. If you’re willing to fish bait, you can do a little scavenging and catch a lot of fish. I’ve been catching most of my fish this week on live sand fleas, and also an artificial sand flea jig I tied. I compiled some footage of me employing this method and posted a video yesterday on my Youtube page “South Fork Salt.” It’s crazy effective.
I expect the fishing will vastly improve this week, as we see more species become increasingly active.
Fluke opens up this week on May 4. Blackfish closes today, Thursday, April 30.
It looks like we’ve got some prime fishing weather coming up. We’ll have some sunny days, and temps getting up into the 60s, possibly warmer. Those sunny spring days are famous for driving great night bites. There will still be some strong winds this coming week, but the winds this past week really didn’t hinder the bite much. It only made it a bit tougher.
I’m on the hunt for weakfish this week. I’ve never been very good at targeting them, so I don’t expect much. It certainly feels like the time to start though.
Whatever you’re after, I hope you find it.
Stay clean, stay safe, keep your face covered. Let’s all do our part and be responsible until this virus situation settles down.
Please message me on instagram @SouthForkSalt to be featured in these reports, or you can email me at TKRegan12@gmail.com.
‘Til next week, tight lines.
Can anyone tell me what’s going on in Battery Park in Manhattan down at South Ferry?
Completely unnecessary to lay an egg laden fish High and dry for a stupid picture next to a tape measure and a rod. Doesn’t anybody get it? Learn proper catch and release for gods sake.
Where are the best chances to catch fish (fluke/stripers/porgy/blues) from piers/docks to go fishing on LI north or south shore near middle of island?