Big bass for the boats along the south shore. Surf is much quieter. Porgies everywhere. Big black drum to the west, plus cownose rays. Big threshers. Big body of bluefin tuna showed up out east.
Long Island Report
Frank from Bernie’s Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn says there’s some new additions to the same old story we’ve been hearing every week. We’ll start with the basics:
Bluefish scene hasn’t changed much. They’re spotty, but everywhere. You’ll catch one here and there, and maybe a school will swim by every once in a while. Frank says, “make sure you cut out the cheeks of the bluefish, especially the bigger blues. That cheek meat is like a filet mignon.” Striper fishing is a nighttime game. It’s constant, solid fishing. Guys are trolling for bigger bass in the channels. The bass are well spread out. Fluke are in the bay, spread out from Floyd Bennett field to the back of the bays. You’ll have to pick through a number of shorts if you want to bring home a keeper or two. And now for the newer stuff: Porgies have come in pretty good. It can only get better, but it sure improved some. Canarsie Pier, Crossbay, and in the back are the places to look for some nice big ones. Consistent warm weather should only improve the fishery. Kingfish have been getting caught in the surf. There are quite a few black drum being caught along Staten Island beaches. From Great Kills to New Jersey, anglers are tapping into some 70-80 pound fish. Cownose Rays have shown up, as have sand sharks. All in all, Frank says there have been improvements all over. We’re excited to see what this next week brings.
Josh at Gypsea Charters in the Rockaways reports:
Fluke fishing remains consistent, with plenty of quality keepers hitting the deck, along with a mess of weakfish and short action. Aboard the 6-pack, bass fishing remains very good. Limits of slot-sized stripers are being taken regularly on live bunker. Fluking should continue to remain productive as we move into the summer months. Vito took the big fish of the week, with a beautiful 29 inch, nine pound doormat. Their two boats are sailing from Howard Beach; the Gypsea is a 6-pack and the Star runs an open boat every weekend, by reservation only. Text for booking details: 516-659-3814
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reports:
Productive sharking has been taking place, with a number of threshers coming to the scales. The Point Lookout Shark tournament was held this weekend: First place went to TJ Amontillado and the crew of “Lady Maureen,” who weighed in a 456-pound thresher. Next was Eric Gewirtz of “Sea Moose,” who nabbed a 295-pound thresher. The shark fishing continued this week, with more massive threshers being taken. Eric of “Sea Moose” killed another thresher at 385 pounds. That’s 680 pounds of thresher harvested by the sea moose crew in just four days, a ridiculous amount of meat. Lloyd Malsin of “Nansea II” got in on the sharking yesterday, taking a 150-pound thresher back to the dock. They caught and released a bunch of dusky sharks. Bluefish and bunker were the baits of choice for these shark fishermen.
The Capt Lou Fleet in Freeport reports:
Captain Willie set out yesterday morning at 8 am for fluke. The fishing was slow, and the conditions were not favorable. When the afternoon came, so did the fish. The short action was lively, and some keepers came up. They’re still fishing in the bay, trying to stay out of the weeds. They’re running two half-day trips per day.
Point Lookout’s Super Hawk has been crushing the fluke in the bays lately. Lots of good catches are coming up, with no end in sight. They’re doing half-day trips for fluke every day, and this week’s weather should provide some solid outings. Call Capt. Steve to make a reservation: 516-607-3004.
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:
Some solid fluke have finally made their way inside, and many anglers are getting their limit of keepers. Shallow flats and channels are holding solid fish. Hit them with a bucktail or Gulp! on a jighead for consistent action. Bluefish are still all over the place, crashing on bait and destroying tackle. It’s so much fun! They are smashing popping plugs, shallow swimmers, tins, bucktails, and whatever else you can throw at them. Fish over 10 pounds are relatively common. Bass action is pretty good inside, with some good slot-sized fish showing up. The ocean has some larger fish taking diamond jigs, popping plugs, and trolling lures. Thirty pounders are here! Weakfish action is consistent on the early morning tides. Finesse tackle in bright colors, plus waking up early, are the keys to a successful outing for weaks. In the fresh water – largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pickerel, carp, crappie, and sunfish are all active and hungry. Fish swimbaits, lipless cranks, jigs, soft plastics, and topwater lures for the bigger species. Topwater for the morning and evenings, everything else for mid-day. The bass and pickerel are out cruising for meals. For the little guys like sunfish and perch, all you need is some worms and bobbers and you’re set to fish all day.
Captree’s Laura Lee has been on the fluke this week, with fish to 7.86 pounds. Ed Bernhardi landed that doormat. Good numbers of summer flounder have been coming over the rails pretty regularly. Sea robins have been the second most common catch. Bluefish came in strong over the weekend, and striped bass fishing has been rather slow. One monkfish was caught, and one sundial came up over the weekend. An express tilefish trip set out yesterday, and 119 golden tiles were landed. Many limits and doubleheaders were caught.
Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson has been hammering all sorts of species on the north shore. The porgy fishing has been ferocious, and they’ve been able to cull some big ones from the bottom. Some really solid weakfish came up over the rail as well. A few blues and short stripers were caught on Tuesday and Wednesday, and some sea bass were caught and released, as we still have a week until that season opens. They’ll be sailing regularly, weather permitting. Go to celticquestfishing.com to buy a ticket.
Captain Stu Paterson of “Northport Charters” reports:
We had an outstanding week mainly targeting fluke on our charters. Scott had this 7.75-pound doormat over the weekend in some nasty east winds and waves. It is June, which is usually the best month for all game fish in our local waters. Call or text to make reservations: 631-707-3266. Or check out the website at northportcharters.com
Steven at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says the Bay Area is filled with weakfish and porgies. Fluke are starting to show up, especially around areas such as the Oyster Factory, Cherry Harbor and Amagansett. Bluefish are still up by Buoy 17. It’s all you can eat up there. There’s still some bass in the bay, and you’ll find them in the Sound too. The sharpies are getting out at night to target the large stripers. The Gut and Race have been all about the bass, but bluefish are steadily making their way in there. Lots of guys are getting ready for sharking and tuna. The Coimbra is holding fish. Steven even heard about some big yellowfin around. The shop has top-notch chum for your offshore needs.
Jeff at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays says the bass fishing in Shinnecock is decent. Guys have been catching fish to about 25 pounds. The bluefish are starting to thing out; there are mostly smaller ones around now. There’s decent fluking in Shinnecock as well. It isn’t crazy, but some keepers are coming up. The nearshore bluefin tuna fishery is just starting up. They’re pretty scattered right now, but they’re starting to work their way inshore. The porgy fishing has entered its typical summertime vibe, with mostly mid-sized fish. The weakfish run is still cooking in the Peconics.
Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports:
A wise man once told me to choose interesting problems, and he was right. Catching 40 and 50-pound Stripers is not a bad problem to have, unless you are trying to bring home some fish for a family BBQ. Fortunately, there are a few slot fish around and with good catch and release handling practices on the big girls, keeper-sized fish (28″-35″) can be had for the table. Quality Stripers are being found along the Fishers Island Chain and in Montauk. Porgy fishing remains strong in Cherry Harbor, and east to Montauk. A few weakfish are still to be had in the Peconics and the flats are holding a few decent stripers as well. Fluking has been somewhat inconsistent, but better than the past two years. It is definitely worth putting in some time for summer flounder. A few doormats have been had this year and there are a fair amount of fish 16-22 inches to keep things interesting. I have had decent Fluke reports from the Eastern LI Sound out to Montauk (Finding the sand eels is key). Sea bass continues to be a regular by-catch and everyone is looking forward to next week’s opener. Bluefish are abundant and may be your best bet for putting a bend in the rod from shore or from the boat. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate for the upcoming weekend.
David at Westlake Marina in Montauk says the first bluefin action of the year just went down. You probably don’t have to run more than twenty miles to get in on the action this big body of fish is providing. There is lots of life around it too, so keep your eyes open as you head out. One boat went out and brought back three fish between 30-40 pounds. The striper guys are having a hell of a time trying to find slot fish. There are some huge bass, but the amount of keepers is lacking. One commercial fisherman was regaling David with some cool tales of big bass. He was targeting sea bass when he hooked into a porgy. He saw the biggest bass of his life follow the scup right to the boat, mouth it a bit and then turn and swim back down. Shortly after, he was reeling in a sea bass, and the 45-pound striper following it didn’t hesitate to steal it. The angler set the hook and fought the giant bass to the boat. The sea bass around right now aren’t particularly big. It’s commercial only right now anyway, but we’re looking at some good numbers for when the season opens next week. Westlake’s best cod angler rolled up to the window while David and I were chatting. David says “how’s the cod fishing been?” and the fisherman shook his head. The hills he normally targets have been leveled by the scallop draggers, so he’ll have to scout around for new spots. Fluking is sporadic. Some days are on and some are off. The other day, two boats came back with a nice load of fish, then three others came back empty-handed. Porgies are around, and they’re big, dinner plate fish. Guys targeting bass are dropping down diamond jigs, and these huge porgies are hitting them. There are boats trolling up big bass with wire about a mile off. The surf guys have been left in the dust for the most part. Usually, David’s all sold out of eels by this time, but the lack of effort and abundance of eels points to the probability that the big girls haven’t really come into shore much yet. We’re hoping that’ll change around the coming full moon.
Montauk’s Viking Fleet got after the fluke and porgies this week. The lighthouse has been producing a solid scup bite. Consistently bent rods could be achieved there. Some bluefish, stripers and sea bass were also coming up. Leonardo Will from the Bronx took a 15-pound striper home on Saturday, along with the edible pool. Very large seabass were caught later in the day, but the fishing was difficult due to a heavy groundswell. A lot of Montauk fellers were pool winners this week. Evan Foschino took the first one on Sunday with a 4-pound fluke. It seems like a new body of fluke moved in overnight. There was a tie for the pool on Sunday, with two 3.2 pound porgies coming over the rails. They were caught by Kwesi Amoa from Central Islip, and Irving Flack from Farmingville. On Wednesday, most of the scup that were coming up weighed between two and three pounds. More bluefish and sea bass came up and were released.
Surf Guide Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball has been having a tough time in the suds, and believes the main culprit is the lack of krill. Krill will bring in all the filter feeders and baitfish, which should in turn bring in our quarry, the striped bass. There have been bluefish in close, and he’s been able to keep rods bent with those, but the lack of stripers this time of year is very uncharacteristic. As someone who focuses mainly on the ocean surf, I concur that there are very few stripers to be found in the surf these days. I’m of the mindset that we’ve still yet to see summer patterns develop, and there are cows to come (from Jersey). That being said, the fish entered in the Ball’s June tournament have been quite impressive, and some bigger specimens have been caught locally. Steve picked his personal best bass at 34 pounds in the Western LI Sound. After plugging for a few hours without a tap, he switched up to a bucktail as a quick Hail Mary. Lo and behold, the big mama hit it! Congrats Steve!
Long Island Forecast
I now know this to be fact: fishing is an addiction. I swear I was having withdrawals these past couple of weeks. All work and no play makes Timmy a tough guy to be around. My poor girlfriend.
When I finally found some time to fish amidst the endless work on my plate, I was eluded by my striped obsession. The patterns I’ve come to rely on haven’t been playing out as I expected. Unfortunately, the resultant skunks hardly serve to quell mania.
What a sick thing, the need to painfully puncture a fish’s jaw. For me (and most, I imagine) fishing fulfills an innate drive to hunt, provide, observe, learn and empathize; in short, we are using our senses to hone our inherent survival skills. It may not be so much a “me” thing as it is a “human” thing. I’ve pondered the “sickness” of it for countless hours, attempting to rationalize the blaring conclusion that I’m out here for no reason other than to hurt animals.
That is just a fact with which an angler must come to terms. Ours is a blood sport. We will kill creatures we do not intend or wish to kill. I pursue and capture these fish for self-fulfillment; and it is selfish. My adamancy towards conservation might just be a coping mechanism.
I’m fine with that for now. I know others who have quit fishing when the “immorality” of hurting fish becomes a burden too great to bear. For me, fishing on the reg keeps my keel level. Watching water calms me, and piecing together the endless puzzle that is striped bass surfcasting keeps my neurons firing. I believe I need it at this stage of my life.
All signs point to addiction. Fuhgeddaboudit. Gonna get my kicks before the whole ___house goes up in flames.
Luckily I got my mojo back. I skunked on one guided trip, and then took on another client. These were mostly scouting missions; if I’m not fishing every day, I do not know exactly where the fish I’m hunting are. I have some ideas and feelings, but they’re more philosophical than practical. Lucky for me, experience has enabled me to rediscover the bite via those musings.
There are a few things I can say for certain. The water is COLD by me. It’s water from the east, which is beautiful and clear, but the fish have not been too happy with it. It’s possible I just need a boat to get on the ocean bite… but no thanks.
As I type, I’m trying to think of ways to explain the good fishing without giving away the spot. The water temp is definitely relevant, and the more I think about it, the more my eyes are opened. I’m reminded of the learning process in watching my drone videos I take. I watch them about a hundred times before I release them, trying to make a sweet edit, and ensure I understand what’s going on so I don’t mislead people. The more I watch, the more I see and understand. I have footage from two years ago that teaches me something new every ten-or-so times I watch it. As I ponder the good bite I’ve found, I come to understand the tides and water movement more than I did three days ago. The water is cold, and the fish seem to prefer the warmer water; the water I would have thought is warm is actually really cold at a tide when I thought it should be warm. You still with me?
I didn’t understand it a few nights ago, and all of a sudden I do. It took writing down my thoughts, and trying to conceal the location, to figure out this small puzzle piece. And now I’ve got another trick in my arsenal. Areas with heavy flow will have temps more in line with the influx. Areas outside the heavy flow will be more stagnant, maintaining the heat of these hot June days. I can’t find the fish in the cold ocean, or the cold flows, so I hit the eddies. And voila, there are the fish.
You might have learned absolutely nothing from the past two paragraphs, but there’s a lesson in there. Ponder your observations repeatedly, no matter how bored you might get doing it. The more you think about your experiences, the more you will understand them. There might be a limit to how much you can learn from one experience, but make sure you try to reach that limit. Think, think, and think some more. This is how the puzzle gets filled.
I’m still holding out hope for some monster striper blitzes. Jersey is still being spoiled with cow bass. When they head our way, I’m hoping they’ll join the feeding fiesta in which I’ve been watching the dolphins and whales partake. It’s friggin’ awesome. Mayhaps the full moon will be the catalyst.
It’s coming up! Don’t sleep on it. Tight lines.
