Some larger stripers are moving along the North Shore. South Shore also had a push of bigger bass. Adam Piotrowski’s 42 pounder was the biggest I saw this week. There are plenty of smaller bass as well.
Giant bluefish continue to raze the bays. Lots of cocktails are in as well.
The black sea bass bite is hot, but the season is closed.
Fluke fishermen had a relatively slow week for the most part.
Reports of kingfish and blowfish are becoming increasingly common.
This seems to be a great weakfish year. There are lots of smaller fish being reported.
Porgy fishing is “downright stupid” according to multiple sources. People who have never fished before have been easily culling limits.
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin got stuck doing yard work this weekend, so nothing much from him personally. He got out last Thursday evening though, and had a nice 27 inch striper right away. As the tide pushed in, so did many MORE stripers. He could see their dorsal fins cruising right along the bank. Of course they wouldn’t take anything he offered them.
His son has been fly-fishing the local ponds, and having fun hooking ravenous bluegills.
The local freshwater scene has been productive in general. The parks are fishing very well lately.
The Westchester area came alive this week. Paul heard great reports from the Delaware. I believe Paul said there was a Hendrickson hatch occurring. The Farmington has been fishing great as well. There are plenty of excellent fishing options within a two hour ride.
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside received a couple reports after this weekend from the fluke grounds. Captain Jim of “Miss Bev” fished the outgoing tide west of the LIRR bridge in Reynolds channel. He caught 4 short fluke and one 20 incher. His rig, tipped with gulp and spearing, also brought three bluefish to eight pounds and one big skate on to the deck.
Chris McGee took his family out fluking on the “George” this Memorial Day. They had a great day fishing Broad Channel near Lindell school. Local spearing and 1-hook KO fluke killer rigs with pro bucktails made for a successful day.
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale says there’s lots of big bluefish around.
Some nice striped bass are being caught out in the ocean. The bay is filled with tiny stripes.
There is also a ton of little weakfish around, all over the place. One customer was reeling in an undersized weakfish the other day, when one of those gator blues came up and bit the poor thing in half!!
The giant tuna bite petered off. They were here for a while, but inshore action has slowed.
The docks are heating up, and a bunch of species can be caught there. Bluefish, blowfish and kingfish are coming to hand pretty regularly.
Bill says lots of people are fishing now, probably more than he’s ever seen. Tons of new anglers are coming to buy gear, and business is a boomin’.
Captree’s Laura Lee sailed for the first time this spring, just yesterday! The morning trips caught over 200 fluke to 5 pounds, 1 winter flounder, about 40 Searobins, 1 striper, 4 blowfish and 1 big cape shark. The afternoon trips brought up about 100 fluke fluke to 2.7 pounds and a handful of Searobins. The night trips got into some big bluefish, about 35 of them. They encountered 7 stripers and some Searobins as well.
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport says there’s lots of fluke around. Most of them are shorts, but if you dig through enough of them you’ll be able to cull some keepers.
Porgies of all sizes are plentiful. There are jumbos and smalls. Mark reckons they’re doing their spawning thang, and expects the bite to change up a bit soon.
Lots of weakfish are in the area, between 14-19 inches.
Small bluefish have invaded, most between 12-14 inches. Bigger bluefish showed face earlier in the week, but they just vanished. Poof!
There is a crazy amount of schoolie bass everywhere. Mark noticed a slight uptick in size this past week. He thinks the Hudson fish are beginning to filter in.
The bait situation is ridiculous. There was a massive cinder worm hatch this week; lots of mantis shrimp are getting caught; fluke are spitting up squid; there’s spearing everywhere, and sandeels on the outer beach.
Blowfish are showing up, but Marks says their puffer bite doesn’t compare to the South Shore’s.
Tyler at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says the porgy bite has been good west of Jessups. There are still some pretty big ones, and lots of guys are doing well on them off the beach.
The fluke bite has been slower as of late, although the warmer water recently seems to have helped. Tyler thinks a new body of fish has moved into the bays, and the action is picking up.
There have been lots of short stripers around for weeks now, but some better fish have just moved in. Tyler caught one of those quality bass just the other day, on a jumping minnow.
There are tons of bluefish around, in the main bays. They’re also starting to fill in to the Gut. Tyler says that should signify the presence of big bass.
Many guys will tell you the blowfish bite stinks this year, but persistent anglers have lucked into some serious puffer bites when they finally stumble upon them. You gotta be on the right spot.
Tyler saw one kingfish to date, caught last week.
Weakfish are still around, although the bite seems to have slowed a bit this past week.
Dave Flanagan of “North Island Fly” guide service in Smithtown says there’s lots of good fishing to be done. Big blues invaded the harbors, and there are tiny sandeels all over the outside with bass hot on their tails.
The big bass are just starting to show up in the deep water, and Dave hopes to put his charter this afternoon on them.
It seems like any moving tide has been the key to success, and these calm foggy mornings have been prime for topwater action.
There are also a decent showing of weakfish on the North Shore as well.
Water is super clear up there, and the water temps are in the sweet spot, 55-60 degrees.
Now that Dave’s open for business, his schedule is filling up quickly! Late afternoon trips are going to be the best bets for big bass in the coming weeks.
Surfcasting guide Bernie Bass says there are still plenty of bass to be had on both the north and south shores. The bays have been producing more consistently than the ocean, as far as bass go. Bluefish have invaded the canals, bays, inlets and ocean. They’re not sticking to a particular tide, it can just turn into mayhem all of a sudden. Bernie’s been seeing lots of bunker in the peconics. There are lots of smaller baits in the bays from Shinnecock to Patchogue.
Jake at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays says the bluefish are everywhere. Jessups, the Peconics, all the way back into Flanders, and Shinnecock are all loaded up with choppers.
A couple nice bass have been caught in the peconics recently. Live-lining bunker has proven an effective method for these early arrivals. There are lots of shorts around. Shinnecock has not been showing many signs of big stripers, but that may be because giant bluefish are quicker to attack one’s lure.
A few weakfish have been hitting the decks up at the south race.
Porgy fishing is downright stupid. Whitewater is sending new anglers up to fish for porgies, and they’re coming back raving about how great the action was.
The canal has a solid mixed bag. Kingfish, porgies, blowfish, and fluke are all biting baits. Jake heard a couple keeper fluke were lost at the wall because they were too big to hoist up, and the anglers had no net.
Fluke fishing picked up lately. We’re starting to hear of some keepers among the plentiful shorts.
The canyons are supposed to have some bluefin right now. It’s a fickle bite though. Jake says about 25 boats would go, and maybe two would get on the fish.
Kenny at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor says he doesn’t usually get many reports on the holiday weekend, but he’s definitely got his finger on the fishery’s pulse.
Kenny heard of a few worm hatches in local coves. There was one last night. The angler who was on it said he saw countless worms off the end of his dock. There were so many fish on them, but he only managed to catch a few. Worm bites aren’t the easiest, especially when the worms are so numerous.
Bluefish are spread out from Accabonac to the peconics, and they are angry. The smaller ones are 5 to 8 pounds, and the larger variety are pushing into the high teens. Both boat fishermen and surfcasters are getting in on the fun.
South race off Robbins Island has been full of fish. Guys are getting bass, blues and weaks.
Fluking in the peconics is not what it could or should be. Kenny thinks it’s probably just impossible to get through all the Searobins. I was up there this weekend and can confirm that. There are so many, and some are HUGE!
The better fluke opportunities can be found in Shinnecock Bay in skinny water.
Porgy fishing has been ridiculously easy. Kenny says you should be able to catch them blindfolded with one hand tied behind your back, and one leg also.
The ocean has been quiet, fish wise. It has become unfishable, on and off. Some days we’ll get huge waves, and the gigantic swells make it very challenging. On that note, a local surf instructor (and friend of mine) visited Ken the other day and informed him that he was spooked out of the water recently after he got bumped hard by something large. Coincidentally, a great white pup just washed up on the beach in Southampton the other day. So bathers, beware.
Big black sea bass have been getting caught and thrown back, for the season is closed.
Kenny’s open 6 days a week now. This past MDW was the busiest weekend he’s had in twenty years. There are lots of new fishermen.
Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports:
With weather still providing some challenges, boat fishermen are not able to get out as frequently as they’d like. Local beaches are sometimes overrun, but early mornings and late evenings are providing some quality sessions when the weather is poor.
Rick was able to get out for a great boat trip earlier this week in the western peconics, scoring his personal best for the year with a chunky and very healthy 35 inch striper. Bluefish have made their presence known, with fish ranging from harbor blues (4-6 pounds), up to gator-sized (15-20 pounds). Schoolie bass are still up in the creeks and harbors. Light tackle guides are running charters most days in the protected backwaters. A few weakfish have been reported in the peconics, but most likely these are bycatch from anglers targeting porgies or stripers.
Porgies are the best bet, with nice catches being reported from Great Peconic bay eastward to Cherry Harbor in Gardiners.
Fluke fishing is beginning to improve but the peconics have not lived up to their former glory. Oft-productive spots like Greenlawns or Greenport Harbor are just not producing like they used to. Some impatient fluke fishermen are already planning their first trip to Montauk.
The season is well underway, and when the weather permits, it is definitely time to get on the water.
David at Westlake Marina in Montauk noticed a bucket full of winter flounder when I called. He hasn’t seen a mess of flounder like that in some time. Obviously the guys wouldn’t tell him in a million years where they’re catching them. But it’s good to know that’s in the cards!
There’s plenty of porgies. It’s a mixed bag of all sizes. The bigger fish seem to be getting picked up by Gardiners.
There are plenty of good sea bass around, but you can’t keep them yet.
The fluke are mostly small from what David’s heard, and difficult to find.
Striped bass are there, biting on different tides from day to day. There are plenty right off the point, all cookie cutters about 26 inches long.
The commercial blackfish guys David knows got into some big porgies in the rocks.
No sign of weakfish out there, but David’s heard of some action taking place near Shelter Island.
Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball took a charter to the Montauk surf this Friday night. The south side produced nothing, with no bait seen. The north side produced a few bass to 7 pounds on 3/4 ounce white bucktails and SS needlefish. When dark settled in, so did the weeds, so no more fish that night. The following afternoon, the north side produced only a skunk; they trekked down to the south side for the same result. Bill has been guiding a long time, and the lack of fish under these conditions concerns him. He could have once, not long ago, guaranteed fish on this particular trip (given moon, tide and conditions). This fishery does not seem to produce any more “sure things” though.
The member reports show signs of school stripers and mid-sized blues in far western Nassau, and the city proper. Other anglers had a slow pick of bass out east, mixed with some cocktail blues. One member reported witnessing multiple accounts of poaching, and encourages anglers to call the DEC if they witness it as well.
Chris from Double D Charters in Montauk says fishing has taken a turn for the better in Montauk. There are stripers being caught that are pushing twenty pounds. There are also bluefish in about the same class.
Jumbo porgies, mackerel, and Black Sea bass are being caught in great numbers.
Fluke fishing is producing a lot of shorts; a decent number of double-digit fish have hit the scales too. It’s improving daily.
Stripers and shad are biting in the surf.
Long Island Fishing Forecast
What a week! I love these foggy days we’re getting on the south shore. They’re indicative of the changing of seasons. Soon the days will be clear and hot. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen now, though, even if it’s foggy! I caught a [not so] nice burn this week while fly fishing the flats in a dense fog.
The ocean has been temperamental. Big winds turned her up, and murked up the water on the sand beaches. Usually I’d be fishing the ocean surf this time of year, but I’m finding myself in the bays way more often. Luckily, that’s the place to be.
While sight fishing, I spooked one fish in the mid-30 inch range. I came upon gator bluefish pushing upwards of 15 pounds; I’ve heard of ones even larger. Shorter bass abound.
And then I heard of some craziness.
There was talk that bluefin tuna entered Shinnecock inlet for two days in a row this week. I wasn’t there, didn’t see it, but I got word from reliable sources that it went down. Supposedly two bonito were caught, and two anglers got completely spooled.
The week ahead looks nice! Our winds are going to come primarily out of the south, and will sometimes be accompanied by warm rains. The forecast says we won’t be getting any of those cold, hard north winds this week. I think that will provide daily potential for catching nice fish as the water temps steadily increase. I think a bunch of trophy fish will be caught all across the island this week.
The ocean has cleared up significantly. The water right now is gin clear, and the soft structure has shifted. We surfcasters are going to have some scouting to take care of this week. The coast is looking prime, from what I’ve seen.
My friend Nico was out surfing less than three weeks ago. This guy is always in the water, and he knows what sharky water looks and feels like. Not far from shore, while waiting for a set, his foot got hammered by something large. He can’t say for sure what it was that struck him, but we talked about the possibilities; they’re all pretty intimidating. I mention this for the sake of any skishers or SUP/kayak fishermen. Any water rat on the east end will tell you about the booming local shark population. Shark “bite” incidents are becoming more common on LI. When I do any of those three types of fishing, I always have a dive knife on my belt. You never know when you might need one, or what for.
Be smart, and play it safe y’all.
I’m going to include a link for this video I made last week; it’s drone footage of some bluefish topwater fly strikes in clear water. It’ll get your heart racing.
I hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend! I’m thankful to all those who’ve served this country selflessly, and to those who continue to do so, so that we at home may remain free. God bless!
Tight lines everyone!
why no WESTERN SOUND REPORT??