Long Island – New York Fishing Report – December 3, 2020

Rosie Wetzel holding a schoolie bass.

Reports from the west end of Long Island indicate a striper bite that has put the late-season action of the past 5 years to shame. Bass to 40-pounds are still being caught and released. Short stripers abound. Fat bluefish to about 10-pounds are biting on the western half of Long Island. A huge amount of bunker moved along the coast in a few feet of water this week. Stripers and gannets feeding upon them providing bent rods and a heck of a show; you could see fish through the breaking waves. There was tons of surf fishing action this week before the crazy wind. There are fish in the bays, but way more of them in the ocean. Lots of tautog are being caught along the north and south shores, but it has been a slow pick this week for the most part. The offshore bottom fishing offshore for big sea bass, jumbo porgies, and cod has been excellent. Some of the cod have been pushing 20-pounds.

Long Island Fishing Report

Josh, at Gypsea Charters in Rockaway, says striper fishing remains outstanding, with gator bluefish rounding out the day’s catch. This past week, the Gypsea saw boat limits of slot stripers, and all the shorts you could ever want. Tog fishing aboard the Star continues to be up and down, with no consistency as of yet. The fishery is expected to improve as water temps continue to plummet; Josh anticipates a productive December on the tautog grounds. The Star sails open boat by reservation every weekend, and the 6-pack Gypsea is available for private charters.

Frank, at Bernie’s Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn, says the striper bite around Breezy and the Tin Can Grounds has been crazy and consistent this past week. Guys are going out by boat and on foot to get in on the action. All sorts of methods are working, but sand eel imitations reign supreme. 9-to-10 pound bluefish accompany the stripers, and those blues are rotund. One guy reeled in his bluefish, and the fish puked up a stomach full of sand eels, a number of which were still alive and kicking. Bunker is also present and there are some bigger bass hanging out underneath them. Fish to 40-pounds have been caught recently. Guys are trolling for them and using swim shads. Diamond jigs are the number one lure being used right now; they’re cheap and effective. Tons of guys are out targeting this bass fishery and Frank says it has to be the best it’s been in five years. The main difference between this year and the past half-decade is the quality of the fish. Usually we’re seeing tons of small bass coming through the area around this time. This year there are plenty of slot fish and over-slot in the mix. Don’t get me wrong though, there are still tons of small bass around too, as usual. Tog fishing is unfortunately a different story. The season has been pretty dismal out west. Keepers are hard to come by. There are a ton of shorts, but pulling up a 5-to-6 pounder is a great fortune. Many toggers are switching over to bass to get their kicks.

Paul, at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin, says he ran up north to chase steelhead last week and froze his butt off for three takes and no fish. Fortunately, a friend of his landed his first steelhead on a swung fly. Paul’s plans to visit the Farmington River were sabotaged by bad weather, which blew out the river. He’ll be trying to make that trip again this coming Tuesday, weather permitting. Back home, there are still plenty of stripers around. Guys are sticking some pretty good numbers in the surf. Paul even heard of some bluefish getting caught. Massapequa’s stocked ponds are producing trout regularly. There are plenty of options to bend the rod this week.

Kathy at Freeport Bait & Tackle, says the shop is selling more bait right now than she did at the same time in previous seasons. Most shop owners I speak with usually get rid of their bait stocks sometime in November. Kathy is still clearing lots of bunker, clams, live eels, and green crabs. She says the demand can be attributed to more anglers and a better fishing season. Guys are still catching stripers on the beach, but we are nearing the end of the migration. There are lots of short bass around presently. Guys are catching them in all sorts of ways, from umbrella rigs to most types of bait (besides worms). One of Kathy’s customers came in after fishing Jamaica Bay this week. He caught a lot of tog. About half of them were shorts, and he had a couple of decent ones too. Guys are asking about herring, and there seems to be an effort to target them, but Kathy says they typically have more of a presence in February and March.

The Capt. Lou Fleet in Freeport, says they got into some great fishing around the holiday. Large cod, huge porgies, and jumbo black sea bass highlighted the trips around Thanksgiving. Black Friday consisted of tog and the action was hot. The “Atlantic Pearl” ran out on a super offshore wreck fishing trip this weekend. They had fish on from the first drop till the last. Cod and jumbo sea bass were the main targets, and at least one decent weakfish was taken.

Merri and Chuck Romas of Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside caught two keeper bass at 28-and-35 inches on large white spoons in 55-feet of water west of Debs Inlet Sunday. They released another nice bass and some bluefish.

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale, says the striper run is tapering off and consists primarily of schoolies and fish just making the slot limit. However, the beaches are still loaded with them. Most anglers are doing very well during the day with a diamond jig and a teaser. You can toss a needlefish if you’re feeling fancy. Darters, swim shads, and bucktails are pulling plenty of fish as well. On the boats, bottom fishing is the name of the game. Tog action has lit up on the wrecks and reefs. Some solid double-digit fish are coming over the rails now. Jigging for black sea bass has been very strong too. There are plenty of keepers, with the occasional 4-to-6 pound fish. Cod, pollock, and haddock are all regularly showing face as well. Clam rigs and jigs will pull fish all day long.

Captree’s Laura Lee in Babylon, says they’ve been at the dock all week due to rough seas. Sunday was their most recent trip, and stripers were the main target. Some bluefish, shad, and dogfish rounded out the catch. It was their slowest day in a while, but the few days prior provided a variety of fish in good numbers including weakfish and sea robins.

Mark, at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport, says the fishing was dynamite earlier in the week, but the weather has slowed it down a bit. You can still catch schoolie bass on plugs and swim shads in the back, but it’s not going to be a bent rod every cast. There doesn’t seem to be any spearing back there, and the squid have probably left for the most part. Most of the bunker moved out as well. It seems like the fat lady is beginning to sing. Tautog fishing is still pretty good. Most guys prefer to fish the Connecticut side this time of year, so there’s not a ton of local effort. Guys are picking away at some decent fish in 40-to-55 feet of water.

Jeff, at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays, says the weather kept a lot of guys off the water recently. Just prior to the blow, the striper bite in the surf was as good as it gets during this time of year. Lots of fish were biting, many of which were shorts. Tog fishing was hot and cold on the reef recently. Prior to the storm, Jeff’s friend hit up Moriches Reef and hammered some tog. The north shore is still doing pretty well also. Offshore, the sea bass and cod fishing has been good.

The Viking Fleet of Montauk, says there have been a bunch of good bites this past week. Black sea bass highlighted the Friday trip, along with 20 cod to 12-pounds. David Luo from Brooklyn had a 7.5-pound tog to win the pool, and David Williams from the Bronx took the seabass pool with a 4.2-pounder. Tautog were picky over the weekend, but the fleet still managed to pull up a bunch of good ones. Quality cod fishing continued, with a 22-pounder coming over the rails. One 10-pound pollock was caught, along with about a dozen others over 5-pounds. I know this fleet will usually brave rough waters, but they’ve been at the dock since Monday.

Rick, at Harbor Marina in East Hampton, says the bottom fishing continues to be excellent for those willing to make the run to deeper waters. Block Island was very good last Saturday for both black sea bass and tautog, with a few decent porgies in the mix. In addition, there were some good reports of cod in about 140-feet of water, more to the south. Once again when the weather cooperates the bite seems to turn on at inshore waters, but also offshore reefs and wrecks. The fact that anglers are only able to get out one or two days a week is probably helping take some pressure off and the fish are stacked up and waiting. The surf zone has become a bit more hit-or-miss, but there are still some schoolies along the East Hampton beaches and I would not totally rule out the possibility of a keeper or two. The calendar is ticking away though. Hopefully, the long Thanksgiving weekend will give us another decent day or two on the water for those looking to wring a bit more life out of the 2020 season. There are several 6-pack charter boats and head boats running out of Montauk for those looking for late-season bottom fishing.

Surfcasting Guide, Bill Wetzel of Surf Rats Ball, says he was finding short bass on the sand beaches on the final days of November. He struck out targeting large on Montauk’s south side, but hope remains. His daughter Rosie nearly robbed him blind with a bet of $1 per fish on Saturday. Bill ended up in the hole, down two bucks. Bill says Montauk is a ghost town right now in regards to surf fishermen and, from what he’s seen, most guys are targeting the sand eel bite on the sand beaches west of Montauk’s rocky shore. If you’re looking for solace, head to the End.

Long Island Fishing Forecast

Once catching the schoolie bass becomes a bit monotonous, I begin poking around my freshwater and brackish haunts. I’m mainly doing it for the change of scenery; I do not expect to catch any trophies, but the potential is there. I’ve found that shallower freshwater bodies will typically have more active fish. Chain pickerel may be the most ravenous. Black crappie will bite well into the winter months, and yellow/white perch are good options.  Whip out the ultralight gear for them. Largemouth bass require a much slower presentation when the water temps drop; the ultralight is a great option for them as well. I’m using 4-pound line for all these fish in the wintertime. Small, buggy lures, and flies can be very productive. Sometimes you’ll even get a carp to bite on those tiny presentations.

White perch and trout are going to be my main targets this winter. White perch are like little bulldogs, and trout are just a whole other animal. I had a couple perch this week, and hit the Connetquot River for some trout fishing on Tuesday morning after a heavy rain. Murky, red water made the river fishing a bit slow, but there were periods when a certain fly would produce bite after bite for 15-minutes. Slowly swung streamers with quick twitches of my rod tip was really enticing to about ten brook trout and one rainbow. My first brookie came about five casts in, on a tight-lined perdigon with a hint of chartreuse. The rainbow fought like crazy, jumping 4-feet out of the water over and over. Those rainbows put up the best fight a shorebound LI angler can hope for in the winter. I look forward to targeting them a bunch this winter. Perch are my mainstay, and I’m always on the hunt for trophies of 3+ pounds. Long Island has a number of those. Choose your spots and check them regularly.

I highly anticipate the transition from saltwater to freshwater, as the fishing tends to be much more relaxing on the sweet side. However, I can’t stress enough how high the potential is on the saltwater right now. Montauk water temps are above 50 degrees still. On December 1, the water temp was just a point below the record high for that day, at 54 degrees. We’re coming off the full moon now, and have a new moon the night before season’s close. I guarantee there are going to be blitzes occurring before the 15th; there always are, and this already feels like a fishier December than those of years past.

Right before these crazy winds, the ocean was a hotbed of action. I fished the flats on a full moon night this week, and had one follow on a big surface fly. I bailed about an hour later and headed to the beach. A bunch of guys were there catching fish. I tried throwing some bigger lures — bucktails, swim shads, and a Mega Shad.) I wasn’t getting many hits, and the ones I did get were short strikes. It was game on once I switched to the Tsunami Sand Eel. I had fish almost every cast, and called it quits after about 30 bass. Most were under 20-inches, but I had three in the mid-20 inch range, and one thicker slot fish at about 30-inches. I stayed out late, and missed a great bite in the morning before the storm came through. Many gannets were hammering the water, and short bass were abundant underneath the surface.

Regardless of all that great action, the highlight of the week may have been Sunday morning, when an endless stretch of bunker hugged the shoreline all along the east end. I can’t remember exactly where it ended, but anglers a few inlets west of me were seeing the same thing. There were a bunch of better bass in the slot range under the bunker in the morning, and smaller fish were present throughout the day. Some guys were picking better bass on bunker imitations, and I was keeping myself occupied with shorts on the teaser.

There are lots of fish on the move still, and as the water temps continue to drop, we’ll see different species migrating along the coast, and coming into the surf to feed at low light. There will be big ones too. Don’t hang your gear up yet folks. Keep the light tackle rigs on you, and bring out the bigger guns at night. Sand eel presentations are still extremely effective, but you’ll likely pick larger bass on bigger baits. At some point, it’s going to seem like the big fish are all gone, but you probably just need to switch to the color blue. Expect some good reports over the next week.

On The Water Social Media