CAUTION: many Portuguese Man o’ Wars have been washing up on the East End beaches.
There are some certain signs the fall run has begun. Blitzes are erupting along the South Shore. There’s a diverse pick of bait for the many migratory predators.
Strong showing of weakfish before their eventual departure.
Sea bass fishing remains strong, porgy fishing strengthens.
Slot bass in Montauk, as well as some large, and plenty of shorts.
Holy mackerel! Grand slam in Oceanside.
Surf stripers are more willing to take lures.
Exotics being taken in the bays: cobia and multiple species of jacks.
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin fished Fort Pond in Montauk this week. It was his first time there, and he took his kayak out with a couple friends to throw topwater flies. He caught three bass, two of which were about 12 to 14 inches. He had some bluegills as well. It was fun fishing, but it took three hours to get there from Baldwin, given all the Trade Parade traffic on the east end. He’ll definitely fish there again if he’s in the area though.
The guides Paul knows have been catching Pelagics lately. Spanish mackerel are still in Jones inlet, and guys are getting them on the fly. False albacore are running around, popping up sporadically for anglers to target.
The rain and cooler weather this week will be good for all fishing. Paul explained how the streams up north of us are all quite low, and how that makes for tough trout fishing. The trout will like the influx of cold water, and anglers will appreciate their willingness to chew flies due to that.
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside heard of a mackerel slam from Lloyd Malsin and the crew of “Nansea.” They had an awesome day jigging up king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, bonito and false albacore. After that they motored to the cholera banks and caught eight keeper fluke.
Capt Lou Fleet in Freeport headed offshore to find some jumbo sea bass this week, as well as plenty of big ling, scup and mackerel. This week they’re running offshore for Tilefish on Friday, and some more of the aforementioned on Saturday. They’re expecting to find some cod and pollack this week.
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:
Weakfish have taken over the bay, in massive numbers. They’re holding in all the usual spots, plus a few unusual areas as well. There are lots of smaller fish, but plenty of keepers and solid fish in the 4- to 6-pound range. Finesse presentations are best for these guys. Small soft plastics on lightweight jig heads and light tackle is the most effective, and most fun. You’ll catch them with bait too, of course.
Some solid fluke are in the mix with the weaks as well. A few anglers have reported keeper-sized fish hanging out on the bottom. Bigger fluke are still being caught on the outside wrecks and reefs on bait and big bucktails. Massive sea bass are still out there as well, smashing jigs and slurping up clam bellies. Five pound knuckleheads are not uncommon.
Stripers are showing up here and there. Kayak anglers and fly guys have been doing great throwing topwater presentations on the flats. The colder weather should have them moving well any day now.
The snappers, kingfish, and blowfish are still hanging out at the local docks eating as much bait as you can throw at them. Crabbing will still be good for another couple of weeks.
The offshore bite is still lit up with solid, consistent tuna and some great sharking, thanks to all of the bait hanging out not far off our shores.
Captree’s Laura Lee stayed in the bay a bunch this week, targeting fluke, sea bass, and whatever else they could manage. Kingfish, bluefish, weakfish, sea robins, dogfish, and blowfish made appearances. Even a cobia was taken from the bay.
The numbers of fish were down for the most part, probably as a result from staying bayside. As fishing goes, though, it sounds like they had some pretty solid action. Tuesday’s 7am trip has 14 anglers, who caught 55 fluke, 28 sea bass, 3 bluefish, 2 blowfish, 1 weakfish and 34 sea robins. The 1pm trip had 11 fishermen who caught 42 fluke, 5 robins, and 10 sea bass. The evening trips this week have probably produced the slowest fishing, albeit the most interesting. Catches include weakfish, blackfish, stripers, bluefish and a number of toadfish.
Yesterday’s full day offshore trip produced 1 bluefin tuna, 695 big red hake, 195 sea bass, 12 bluefish, 18 porgies, 1 triggerfish, 6 mackerel, 3 fluke, 2 flounder, 1 silver eel, 25 cunner and 3 ocean pout.
Surfcasting guide Bernie Bass had some good days and some tough days in the surf this week, but never a bad day. Once the water dirtied up later in the week, the bite slowed. Prior to that, he found the surf to be quite productive.
Bernie hit the daytime tides for a decent pick of small bass.
Bluefish retreated from his hot spots, so he nailed bass on soft plastics.
There is still a ton of bait around, and cooler temps on the way. The waters are primed for some great action.
Dave Flanagan of “North Island Fly” is patiently waiting for some more false albacore and bonito to trickle in. The bass and blues have been keeping rods bent and anglers smiling. It has been very fun fishing, especially since some bigger bass begun feeding in the area. Some stripers into the thirty pound range have been taken on surface lures, and some teen sized bass have been hitting flies. Some chopper blues are in the mix, pushing upwards of ten pounds.
Rough conditions and stiff breezes, combined with dropping temps, have really lit the flame under these fishes’ tails. Bait is on the move. Dave feels it will blow up any day now. He’s got 9/21 and 22 available for booking, and a few half days til then. Check out his site and give him a buzz to book a trip.
Captain Stu Paterson of “Northport Charters” found some 2-6 pound bluefish blitzing on peanuts in the back bays this week. Porgies to 2.5 pounds continue to bend rods in the bay and LI Sound. The snappers from two months ago have grown into cocktails by now, and they are biting well alongside the porgies. There has been a good bite of schoolie bass to boot.
Head out to the sound for keeper sea bass. Stu came upon bluefish smashing peanuts off Eaton’s Neck. He believes it’s an omen, and that false albacore should be here any day. There’s lots of life in the water.
Bottom fish continue to entertain clients aboard the Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson. They had their daily pick of porgies with plenty of sea bass mixed in. Kingfish, dogfish, striped bass and bluefish served to mix up the bag. Anglers had some very big porgies yesterday.
Steven at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says the surf boys are in for some good fishing this coming week. They’ve been seeing Spanish mackerel and albies showing up more and more. Porgy fishing is awesome, as they’re making their own fall run. Steven said guys are catching these nice, big black ones that are new arrivals. Find them on the Sound, and in the bay areas along with cocktail blues, weakfish, and even blowfish still! The northeast winds this week are gonna cool the waters down and heat the fishing up. The north shore should be seeing some fireworks soon!
Boat guys are getting bass in the Gut and Race, and bluefish along with them. There’s a lot of albies on the north side of Plum, and from Gardiners out to Montauk. Surf guys can probably get in on those as well.
The unbelievable weakfish run we had this year seems to be tapering off, as reports are becoming more sporadic. They’re starting to make moves out of their summer haunts. Apparently Robbins Island and Shinnecock are still loaded with them though.
Guys are still fluking away, and other guys are getting antsy for blackfish season. It’s looking like it’ll be a great fall.
Ethan at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays says the inlet has been productive for the structure-hugging fish like porgies, sea bass and triggerfish. Spanish mackerel are still biting, and albies have shown up here and there. The albie fishing got pretty good about a week and a half ago; it has been sporadic ever since. Ethan recommends the top of the incoming, as that’s when most species are biting. You could potentially get some bass, blues and fluke at that tide stage.
The town beaches are also putting up small bass and blues. Some bigger blues, about 8-10 pounds, are hanging out underneath the bunker schools not far from shore. Guys are pulling some slot stripers from the suds every once in a while.
The canal is putting up the typical late-season small fish: the bait-stealer porgies and sea bass. A few triggers have been taken there.
Head into the bay for some solid fluking. There is a good population of shorts, so you’ll have to put some time in picking through them to get your keepers. Try the end of the incoming when the water is clear.
The offshore scene has been quiet since the blow, but guys are starting to take trips out there again. Before the blow, the fishing was great, with a decent pick of bluefins. Yellowfins were biting, but Ethan thinks that’ll slow down now as the cooler weather brings the water temps down.
Kenny at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor took a few days off this week after a long, drawn-out summer. He hasn’t heard many reports as a result, but the ones he told me about were pretty awesome.
Shinnecock was good earlier this week before the blow. All sorts of interesting fish species came in. I found some Portuguese man o wars on the beach, but Kenny heard about some Jack species coming into the inlet. The ones he saw pictures of were probably Horse Eye, Barred, and Almaco Jacks.
Last Thursday some albies showed up there during the bad weather. Blues, bass and triggerfish were also biting up a storm.
The open beaches were chock full of bait this week, but if anything, that made it harder to catch fish. Surf anglers seemed to have a tough time with all the bait around.
I think the bait situation has diversified a bit, and now these fish are more willing to hit lures.
Kenny’s friends were fishing in a boat off Montauk this week, and they reported seeing giant sandeels, “the ones that the bluefin tuna like to feed on.” This is extremely exciting information for a surf angler like me.
Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports:
Northeast winds are presenting some real challenges for boat anglers looking to enjoy the front end of the fall season. Last weekend was basically a blowout, so folks were pretty limited as to where they could fish. The bright spot to this scenario is that it forces one to really study spots closer to home and maximize efforts. I was able to enjoy some decent bottom fishing in the Eastern LI sound, and even found a new spot that yielded a 5 pound sea bass. Another rather protected new spot along the Fishers Island chain yielded a slot bass. Sometimes prospecting pays off, and can be necessary when facing adverse conditions.
Feedback from some local light tackle enthusiasts is concerning as the few nice days earlier this week were basically absent of the previously abundant schools of bass and the occasional hardtail and bluefish. Even the large bunker schools that were hanging around Montauk were absent. Persistent northeast winds can really mess things up in the fall.
That said the next four days look to be North East winds at 15+ mph. Perhaps this is the weekend to break out the big sticks and hit the beach or Montauk for some surf casting?
Sea bass and porgy fishing remains strong as fish are getting ready to move to deeper water. Fluking is all but finished with these persistent north winds, but you may still score on a nice fish when targeting sea bass off of Montauk.
There are still plenty of fish to the North, so get ready for the next slug, and be flexible and ready to go when the weather permits.
David at Westlake Marina in Montauk didn’t get much in the way of reports this week, as big swells kept boaters off the water. The scuttlebutt indicates that the status quo has remained unchanged.
Big striped bass are still hanging out at the Ledge. Some bigger fish moved into the Montauk area, and boats were able to troll up a good amount of slot-sized bass.
Porgies and sea bass are still going strong. Fluke are still hard to come by. Mackerel are still in kind of close, but he hasn’t gotten many reports of false albacore. The light tackle guides moored at Westlake haven’t had much luck yet.
David feels that we’re a bit behind this year, and that stuff he could normally expect in September will not go down until October. The northeast winds this week could really change up the scenery though.
Surf guide Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball has been finding fall bass since September began. Montauk has been producing some schoolie blitzes along the sand beaches. Shad, porgies, adult bunker and snappers are hanging in the surf, as are tons of white bait and spearing. Small blues are hanging in close attacking the smaller bait. Bill posted one of his famous “on the way home from the office” videos last night, talking about the current scene in Montauk. He and his charter had found some good bass to thirty pounds feeding on snappers, amidst the numerous blitzes fueled by them and white bait.
SRB members have had plenty of short, schoolie bass out in Montauk this week.
The situation sounds similar on the western half of the island, with lots of small baits (peanuts, anchovies) in the wash. Bluefish and Spanish mackerel are on them. Bass are basically in blitz-mode, hitting pretty much anything you put in front of them.
Montauk’s Viking Fleet had some rough weather to work through beginning this week, but it was a productive one. Peter Guando of Baldwin took the pool on Saturday with an 8.5 pound fluke. Nice sea bass and porgies mixed up the bags.
Sunday improved big time, with great fishing occurring just off the beach. Big porgies came over the rail two at a time. Nice triggerfish, sea bass, fluke and blowfish rounded out the catch. Bruce Stafford of Sag Harbor nailed a 6.5 pound fluke.
Block Island has been the target for the remainder of the week, with jumbo porgies and knothead sea bass on the menus. It got tough with that long-period swell, but they still made it happen. Ray Jorge from the Bronx landed a five pound trigger fish, and another anonymous angler had a four pound porgy.
The whaling trip went well too, with three humpbacks and about 150 dolphins spotted. It’s cool to read about these trips because the photographers aboard are able to identify individual whales. Yesterday they saw a juvenile humpback that they first encountered on 7/25. Shortly after, a different humpback swam by, one they had seen on 7/31 and 9/2.
Long Island Fishing Forecast
I figured this following tidbit of info would be very helpful to anglers interested in fishing Montauk. The “trade parade” (traffic caused by day laborers going into/out of the Hamptons) is worse this year than it ever has been. It didn’t die out this summer like it normally does, and it is more of an all day occurrence, versus your typical morning/afternoon rush. If you’re interested in going out to Montauk, for most days of the week it’s going to be a LONG trip once you hit the canal. The best way to avoid that is passing over Shinnecock Canal before 6am. After that, the traffic situation will devolve rapidly, and 7 to 10am is going to be a long, slow, dragging trip east. Where there was once a lull in traffic from 10-3, cars now go bumper-to-bumper for lunch. 1:30-3pm will most likely be the best time to escape the east end. 3-7 is going to suck again. After that, you’re golden. Hope that helps.
Funny, that felt kind of like analyzing tides. Such is life.
It is ironic how my busiest part of the year ends, and now I have even less time to fish. My friends are catching fish on the open beach as I type. I just hung up with Stephen Lobosco, and I could visualize everything he said he was seeing. A variety of baits, some unrecognizable; a marine smorgasbord. Fish are becoming more and more comfortable with chasing artificial lures down. The slight drop in water temps are making these fish lively. The fall run has commenced on the South Fork.
There are plenty of bass to be taken in the surf, from tiny to tremendous, depending on where you go. Schoolies reign supreme along the open beach, while Montauk hosts the big girls. I guarantee the bridges are holding some big bass as well.
You can go to easily accessible spots on the ocean and in the bays, and witness an awesome fishy spectacle of blitzing fish taking surface offerings. The fish could be around 30 inches. The fishing will be great, almost guaranteed. I’ve been opting for snapper fishing with a 3 weight though. Watching the snappers jump six feet across the surface to engulf a shrimp is pretty awesome, but the birds are really why I’m there.
My favorite birds, Swallows, are migrating. They are chewing on bugs and bayberries. They flock up by the hundreds in parts of the bay where coastal brush is lush. They flit and fly around like miniature fighter jets, coming within an arm’s reach. When they surround you, it feels like you’ve entered a snowglobe filled with beautiful black/blue birds. It’s a magical feeling. They keep me patient as I try not to think about the albies I’m missing while stuck at work. Love em.
Anyway, the week ahead: I’m optimistic. I love northeast winds in September, and we’ve got a bunch of those this week. They have never really done much for me, besides get me overly excited. That being said, I expect to see tons of mullet running the beaches and jetties this week. Bass will be chasing and blitzing upon them. It will be cool to see, and possible to catch.
Real ones will head to Montauk and fight the elements for some big bass, day and night.
Word of sand eels will keep me up at nights, fishing into the wee hours for the giant bass that will inevitably find them and slurp a needlefish lure like spaghetti.
Enough said, I think.
Get out there. The coast is alive, and it’s ramping up.
Tight lines.