Above: There have been good numbers of Spanish mackerel around the island. This one was caught on the fly with North Island Fly and Light Tackle.
A few albies were landed on boats.
HUGE sheepshead out west.
Big triggerfish out east.
Shark blitzes in the surf. Gator bluefish also in the mix.
Crazy tuna action a short trip offshore.
Excellent sea bass fishing in Montauk. Fluking picking up out there.
GSB loaded with solid weakfish, 5-7 pounds.
Vinnie from CrossBay Bait and Tackle in Howard Beach was excited to tell me about some crazy fishing this past week.
A tuna blitz was one highlight. 7 miles offshore, the tuna raged upon bait, providing a ton of topwater action for those lucky offshore anglers.
Guys are catching a lot of sharks in the surf these days, right from shore.
Big porgies are being caught in the ocean, and some not-as-big (but still ‘quality’) porgies are being caught inside the bay.
If Crossbay was an official weigh station in NY, we’d likely be reading about a new state record Sheepshead that was caught this week. The existing record is 13.36 pounds. The fish Vinnie weighed in went 13 pounds, 9 ounces.
Vinnie has weighed in a few sheepshead this year. They’re eating blue claw crabs right near the marine parkway bridge.
AB and Rockaway Reefs have been quite productive this week. One crew had a stellar outing, catching lots of big fluke to six pounds. Four to six guys all had their limits of fluke, with the smallest fish caught that day going 22 inches.
Seabass fishing offshore is still productive, but you probably won’t find any in the bay. Run to the cholera or Shrewsbury rocks.
Vinnie hasn’t heard any reports of weakfish, but he knows guys are targeting them.
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin had an interesting trip to the Farmington this week. He fished a tenkara rod, catching just one fish. The water was very low, but the incoming rains will change that up.
In the saltwater, there is tons of bait and tons of bay blues. The inlet is filled with Spanish mackerel. Head back to the sod banks in the late afternoon and evening for some striped bass action.
Kathy from Freeport Bait & Tackle had an excellent report from Captain Ray of Carolann P Charters:
He had seven trips last week, and most trips limited out on seabass to four pounds, fluke to five pounds, with fluking really turning on this Sunday at the AB Reef. A mixed bag was attained, consisting of porgies, ling, bass, chub and Spanish mackerel, fluke, sea bass, puffers, albies, and bonito. Ray says that the presence of bonito indicates that the fall monster mako season is not far off. Ray also saw a 200 pound class bluefin tuna chasing the mackerel out in 80 feet of water in the early morning.
Another customer brought in a bunch of big, beautiful mackerel, all up to about 1.5 pounds.
Santiago Lamas went out with Captain Joe Garhmen this week, and maxed out on 18 tuna. All fish were over 50 pounds. A bunch of other customers have been coming in to buy tuna rigs as well.
Cholera has been on and off with the fluking, but when it’s on you can get into some really good fishing. Some days you might get skunked. People are catching fluke all over the place, but there are lots of just-shorts (17-18 inches).
Shark fishing is still hot off the beach, with anglers catching them at Jones Beach Field 6, Fire Island inlet and the Sore Thumb.
Capt Lou Fleet in Freeport started out the week with some phenomenal fluking. Limits of fluke to 7.2 pounds started the day, and limits to 6.4 pounds finished the afternoon.
Windy conditions slowed down the fluke fishing as the week progressed, but the sea bass bite remained pretty strong.
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside got a couple fluke reports this weekend. Diana Tramutra had a 3.95 pounder caught on spearing six miles south of Debs on Friday. The next day, Peter Arapas of “Ellen Marie” got to the AB Reef, in 55 feet of water. He paired BP spearing and cut squid on a KO pearl white rig to catch a five pound fluke.
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale says weakfish action has started to heat up again as the weather cools down. The bay is loaded with solid weaks, with fish in the 5- to 7-pound range in the mix. We went out Sunday after work and had a pick of fish up to keeper size, all on small pink and white soft plastics.
Fluke action is still going strong, with doormats still coming up over the rails. Bucktails tipped with Fat Cow strips or a Gulp! grub have been putting in work for our local anglers. The ocean reefs and wrecks are holding bigger fish consistently.
Sea Bass action is non-stop on those reefs and wrecks as well. Jigs have been pulling really nice fish and clams will put em on the deck.
Pelagics have been showing up in small droves, and should be here full time in the next couple of weeks.
Striper action should be heating up more and more over the coming weeks as well. A few lucky anglers have been doing well with bass off the beaches already.
Captree’s Laura Lee did a number on the fish species this week. Topping that list for me was the few reports of false albacore that were boated (not to mention the random lobster along the way). The first came on Tuesday, alongside a bluefin tuna. Yesterday’s 7am trip produced three albies.
Consistent catches of Black Sea bass kept everybody’s rod bent. They numbered in the hundreds for every trip. Porgy fishing was just as good, with yesterday’s 7pm trip tallying up to just under 700 porgies.
Mostly business as usual the rest of the week, with lots of fish, a bunch of them random/interesting.
It’s never a dull day on the Laura Lee.
Surfcasting guide Bernie Bass had a good week in the suds. The numbers of bass increased throughout the week, and he even found some better fish as well. We have copious amounts of bait, and fall is right around the corner.
Dave Flanagan of “North Island Fly” has been smackin’ the Spanish macks in the LI Sound. He’s finding them to the east of his home waters. He’s still waiting on the bonito to make an appearance. There are lots of stripers biting in the morning, and Dave says the back bays are coming alive.
The Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson started the week with a plethora of big porgies and medium bluefish that look to be anywhere from 2-8 pounds. As the week progressed, their customers tied into a number of solid seabass. The porgy, bluefish and sea bass bites persist as of yesterday.
Steven at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says there’s a great surf scene up there right now. Get your stripers at sunrise and sunset. SP minnows and Joe Baggs lures are doing damage.
Epoxy jigs have been a hot ticket item with all the Spanish mackerel around. There’s a crazy amount of them tearing up bait right near shore.
Guys are still getting plenty of good porgies off the beach in the bay and sound. Cedar Beach and the Bay Area have them. Snappers and blowfish are in the Sound and bay too. Guys are having a ball over at Goldsmiths.
In the boat, sea bass and porgies are providing action from the north side of Plum to Fishers. Along the Sound, you’ll get em at Mulford, Rocky and Hortons points.
Bass and blues are in the Gut and Race. If you’re looking for gator blues, which you very well may be if you’re in that $25k tournament, you’re gonna want to head to the Race. The big blues are tearing everything up there.
Rich at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays says the offshore scene is still great. There were a few giants caught a week ago south of the point in 35 fathoms. There was a mix of bluefin and yellowfin. This body of fish is scattered throughout the 35 fathoms range south of Butterfish hole. Some guys do real well, some guys do okay, and some guys have been dropping jigs down and picking up some nice ones.
A few swordfish were caught this week by guys deep dropping.
A couple makos were caught this week, a 265 and 200 pounder. There aren’t a lot of threshers, but guys are still finding some.
The bass fishing here is slow. There are some fish in the bay on live bait. Peconics are very quiet.
Ocean fluking has been fair; Rich wouldn’t call it “good.” The best fish are out at the reef. There’s a bunch of fish in the bay, but the sea robins get your bait almost every time.
There’s a decent amount of triggers and sea bass on the reef as well.
There’s some good fishing in the bay for the kids, consisting of kingfish, blowfish, porgies and snappers.
No word on the albies yet, and the bonito and Spanish mackerel bites are not quite strong either.
Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports:
The offshore scene remains interesting with a steady tuna bite coming from the ranger area. One boat had two bluefin and two yellow fin last Sunday. Shark action can be found anywhere from 10 feet off the beach out to 30 miles.
My personal outing to the Frisbie, CIA, Cartwright area last weekend was a bit disappointing with unlimited short Sea Bass, Short Fluke, one keeper Fluke lost at the boat. Perhaps the banana that my wife innocently slipped into my food cooler had something to do with it. There were a few good cod reports from outer Cartwright but the reports of numerous short Sea Bass were consistent with my own outing. I do expect to see more quality Sea Bass as we move forward into the fall, but the continued lack of quality Fluke is troubling. That said, I have had some great trips for Sea Bass and Porgies so there are better quality fish around.
Stripers are being picked at, in the evenings and early mornings with some overs, some unders and a few slot fish along the Fishers Island Chain and in Montauk.
Blue-fishing has been solid with snappers, cocktails, and harbor blues blitzing in the local harbors and embayments on the slack tides. Great light tackle action and tons of fun for the kids.
Not my most exciting report of the season, but the heat of summer can temper the bite during certain stretches. I think we are all looking forward to a switch up in the current weather pattern.
David at Westlake Marina in Montauk says the tuna bite is still really good. Guys are doing short trips, thirty miles out to the Ranger and back.
The bass bite is a bit slow, but it is starting to pick up again over by Block.
The Black Sea bass bite has been the reliable mainstay this season. It is incredible right now.
The fluke bite has [finally] started to pick up. It’s not red hot yet, but it seems like we’re on the verge of that. It started about 7-10 days ago, and guys are getting some good fish in 50-70 feet of water. Frisbie’s would be a good bet to attain a limit.
Shark fishing has slowed down a bit inshore, and David recommends taking a little ride offshore to find them.
Surf guide Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball fished with Striper conservationist Ross Squire this week. The two slung some live eels hoping for big bass in the Montauk rocks. Ross had one nice take on his circle-hooked eel, but the fish got away. Bill had a couple slot-sized bass on tsunami 2 ounce shad bodies.
No fish on his second trophy trip along Montauk’s south side, but Bill did see two giant bass heads missing the rest of their carcasses. They look to have been bitten clean off by a shark. So be careful out there!
Montauk’s Viking Fleet saw lots of big porgies, big sea bass, and big fluke this week. A 5.5 and a 7 pounder won the pools on Sunday. Robert Wooding of Amagansett took the edible pool with a 4.3 pound triggerfish.
Pete Carroll of Staten Island took Monday’s pool with a 7.5 pound fluke. A mixed bag of fluke, sea bass and porgies accompanied that fish.
The whale watching trip on Monday was excellent, with an abundance of life putting on a heck of a show.
For the next few days, the porgies, sea bass and fluke kept rods bent for some fast fishing and quickly acquired limits. Tito Rivera of Shelter Island caught the most recent pool winner, a five pound fluke.
Montauk fishing sounds darn good right now.
Long Island Fishing Forecast
The amount of bunker I was looking at this morning was astounding. I have been on the water pretty much every single day for the past seven years, and I have never before seen so many fish at once. It made me think, “ah, so that would’ve been how Jesus walked on water.” Sharks and big bluefish have been attacking them in the early mornings. I’ve been snag-and-dropping, for nothing yet. I did, however, get some cool footage of the sharks attacking bunker a short cast off the beach.
Ever since the bunker showed up, the water has been dirty and the bass fishing has been slower. It’s tough times in the suds. Fish at night, and give the early mornings a go as well. Starting early will get you in good spirits, as you can watch whales breaching on the bunker very close to shore. Dolphins are swimming alongside the whales, and sharks are corralling the schools into the surf zone. The predation typically ends before ten, but the whales and dolphins move through most of the day. It’s an amazing time of year.
I can feel autumn in the air. The north winds are growing cooler, and they’re coming more often. The sporadic storm systems moving through are indicative of a seasonal transition, and they’re revving me up. The recent albie reports, especially from Massachusetts, are especially intriguing. They’re catching albies larger than 15 pounds in Massachusetts. Hopefully we’ll get some of those bruisers in our neck of the woods soon. Even the bonito north of us are absolutely massive (for my experience). Mike Wright’s pic last week of his big bonito has me thirsting for some of that white tuna-esque meat.
The weather moving forward is going to be erratic, and I think the fishing will be also. Come this time of year, right around Labor Day, the bite can fall off and come back on as if someone was flicking a light switch. Last year I went fishless for a few days preceding Labor Day and figured, “well, I just gotta start hitting the inlet as often as possible.” Then on Labor Day, a huge amount of spearing showed up, and the stripers were blitzing on them for miles. What a beautiful way to end the summer.
We’re just about there. Don’t let a skunk or two, or five, get you down. That’s how it goes. Just stick with it, and don’t throw in the towel. This is the time of year when incredible spectacles occur on the ocean when you least expect it. Good news: it’s occurring as I type.
Get down to the beach, get out on your boat, and enjoy the rest of the summer.
Until next week, tight lines!
Great report as usual, look forward to reading it every Thursday.
Likewise !
Well written…I can smell salt air!! thanx
peter