Long Island Fishing Report – July 1, 2021

Long Island Fishing Report

Montauk is “phenomenal” according to all my sources. The big striper bite is ridiculous. “Exotic” fish are beginning to arrive. Multiple triggerfish and cobia have been caught. Porgy fishing has picked up steam all across the island. Sea bass fishing is great as well. Many giant dogfish to the far west. Offshore species are coming very close to the beach. Marlin sighting close in, plus tuna and sharks. Bigeye bite at the canyons is “legendary.” Weakfish are still around. Surf fishing remains extremely lame, but with subtle signs of hope.

Frank from Bernie’s Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn says everything is running, nothing is walking. Action is pretty good all around, from the back of the bays, to the creeks, and both inside and outside the bay.

The only negative, depending on how you feel about this, is that everybody is being “pestered” by these big, awesome sand sharks. There are a lot over three feet long. Frank says BE CAREFUL because there are some species of local sharks that look just like these dogfish that have mouths full of teeth. Take extreme caution when handling anything that is or looks like a shark. Bluefish are around, same as they have been. Stripers are getting caught at night. These two species have not let up. The warmer temps have only made the angling effort dwindle; the fish are still at it. Porgy fishing, on the other hand, has picked up tremendously. That’s the main game in town, and the action is full-fledged. Fluke are very spread out, but there are some keepers. It’s hard work, but put your time in and you’ll be able to bring some meat home. One regular customer came in with a picture of his daughter who was messing around with a Krocodile spoon and hooked a 20-inch fluke. And then there’s the “nuisance” species, like sea robins and dogfish, which are plentiful. Regardless of how you feel about them, they’re abundant, rod-bending, and delicious.

Josh at Gypsea Charters in the Rockaways reports:

Ocean fluking has been exceptional when the weather allows, with consistent action throughout the trips. Many quality keepers to nine pounds hit the deck this past week. Striper fishing also remains very good, with all fish being taken on live bait, with limits and many releases each trip. Fluke and striper fishing should remain excellent throughout the summer months. 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:

Jim M. of “Miss Bev” fished with the 562 fish club on the Capital Princess out of Freeport this Sunday. They targeted the Cholera during some dense fog. Fluke and large sea bass were the main quarry; he caught a limit of fluke, with fish to four pounds (which took the pool). The wind increased around noon, necessitating the use of some heavy lead. The bite seemed to stop with the wind though. 25 guys went out, and everybody went home with some keepers.

Lloyd Malsin of “Nansea II” went south of Atlantic Beach yesterday in some strong west winds. The eight-man crew all acquired limits of seabass, on top of 25 ling and six keeper fluke to 6.5 pounds. It was tough fishing, as they were using 8-12 ounces to hold bottom. The wind forced Lloyd to man the throttle all day to stem the drift. It was great fishing overall though.

Kathy from Freeport Bait & Tackle says keeper fluke have begun to show at the local fishing piers. Len came into the shop with a couple of big fluke. Young Cam also nabbed himself a keeper fluke near Guy Lombardo Marina.  A keeper bass was reported from the same marina. The boat guys are getting on them in the bays as well. Most of the fluke Kathy’s heard of are coming from the bays. Willy Premonter weighed one in that went 3.8 pounds. Louis Aponte brought in a 17 inch, 2.2-pound porgy taken from the Hempstead Reef while using Gulp. Paul reeled in a nice cobia from the Reynolds Channel. Porgies, sea bass and fluke are all at the Hempstead Reef. Kathy has fresh bait coming in daily. She also got a fresh shipment of Tsunami rods, Joe Baggs tackle and mag darters. Anything you need, you’ll likely find it at Freeport Bait and Tackle.

The Capt Lou Fleet in Freeport reports:

Captain Willie says the morning trip on 6/29 was excellent with a nice amount of keeper fluke. The wind picked up in the afternoon, making the fishing difficult. All in all, the ocean fluke bite has been fantastic. There has also been a good amount of quality sea bass in the mix. They’re running a July 4th fireworks cruise on two of their boats. Book tickets today on captloufleet.com

Point Lookout’s Super Hawk says sea bass season is off to a great start. The catch has consisted mainly of sea bass, along with porgies, fluke, ling, cod and more. Fluke anglers should be bringing Gulp out there. Marty did and was rewarded with a true doormat fluke yesterday, which took the boat pool. Call Capt. Steve to make a reservation: 516-607-3004.

Captree’s Laura Lee has had a wildly productive week so far. Yesterday’s trips produced as follows:

7 am trip caught 185 sea bass, 6 porgies, 1 cod, 12 cunners, and 8 ling. 8 am trip caught 61 fluke, 24 sea robins, and 26 dogfish. 1 pm trip caught 153 sea bass, 26 porgies, and one fluke. 2 pm trip caught 34 fluke and 11 sea robins. 7 pm trip caught 104 sea bass, 9 porgies, 2 ling, 1 cod, and 1 dogfish. That’s just one day of fishing, and it’s actually their slowest day of the week. Monday and Tuesday saw greater numbers of all the aforementioned species. Added to the list were 41 mackerel and 4 silver eels on Monday; Tuesday they boated a stargazer and a blackfish; the past weekend saw all the same species, in even greater numbers. Over 500 sea bass were caught on two trips, acquiring a full boat limit. Also in great abundance were the red hake, with some trips producing over 500 fish for the boat. For nonstop rod bending action, you can’t go wrong by heading down to the Captree fleet.

Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport says the stripers have gone deep in the past three or four days. Surfcasters are going to do their best work at night, when the temps are down and the water has a chance to cool down. It’s a huge change from the couple weeks prior, when the surface action was unbelievable. Boat anglers will be able to target the daytime bite, as the fish will still be chewing, just in much deeper water. They’re so deep that trolling wire isn’t going to be the most effective method; rather, try live lining or chunking bait down in the depths. Check out the wrecks for some nice sea bass. The porgies will keep your rod bent all day long if you target the rocks and mussel beds. You’re going to want to target the changing of the tides to catch sea bass, porgies and fluke. Bluefish will also chew well on the tidal transition. They’re not exactly schooled up, but they’re prevalent. They seem to be running all over, ravaging anything at all opportunities. There are lots of fish out there, but they’re becoming a little more difficult to target now that the heat is really setting in. The cooler temps this storm is expected to bring will probably have a good effect on the bite.

Captain Stu Paterson of “Northport Charters” reports:

Long Island Sound is alive with life! Stripers, blues, weakfish, fluke, porgies, you name it, the bite is on! The scup bite has been insane, with dinner plate porgies to 3.5 pounds. Bait and life is everywhere you look. Yesterday we even had a blackfish/winter flounder double-header hit a clam on a Hi-Lo rig! They both went back in the water to fight another day. Every charter is filling the box, and going home with big smiles and fresh fillets. Call or text to today to make reservations: 631-707-3266. Or check out his website at northportcharters.com

The Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson saw the action slow a smidge throughout this past week. Some decent sea bass and scup were chewing clams to keep the rods bent, but compared to the past few weeks, the fishing was just not on par. As the week progressed, the fish seemed to be a little larger, and the action a little better. They’ll be sailing regularly, weather permitting. Go to celticquestfishing.com to buy a ticket.

Dave Flanagan of “North Island Fly” reports:

It’s been nonstop action with gator blues. Some people give them a bad rap, but I absolutely love them! They attack each fly/plug like it’s their last meal. Some of the fish are over 12 pounds, and I’ve seen a few that look like amberjacks. We’ve had days where we catch 50+ blues, for both spin and fly anglers. Striper fishing has been consistent, with most fish falling in the 20-26 inch range; the back bays, boulder fields, and channels have produced a few bass over thirty inches. There are definitely still some big bass with the bluefish, but the blues are just so aggressive that there’s little chance of getting to the stripers. Slower presentations seems to up the chances of getting to the bass. I had a top ten day this past weekend with Jack Lariz and Chris Meagher, landing over sixty bluefish on the fly; we had a few shots at some big bass, and it looked like a scene from National Geographic out there. Yesterday I decided to do a quick grocery run after our morning trip; two drifts produced two fluke – a short and a 20-inch keeper, which became ceviche. The fish spit up a 4-inch porgy, which explained why my albino shad bass assassin tricked it. Water temps spiked a bit during this heatwave but should cool back down over the weekend. We even did a little sight fishing this week around high noon, finding steady shots at some quality stripers. I still have some availability for the month of July, and the fishing seems poised to keep cranking.

Kenny at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor often says there’s not much of a report, then proceeds to get my adrenaline all jacked up with what he tells me. So here goes: The Peconics are starting to get very warm. Water temps are above 73 now, and typically after it reaches this temp, the fishing takes a nosedive. There are still plenty of weakfish in there, but the action will be primarily from shorter fish from here on out. Most of the best activity will be found at the Gut, Race, and Montauk. Kenny’s probably the fourth person to tell me that Montauk is phenomenal right now. This is where the adrenaline kicks in. Tuna reports are coming in, and they’re getting caught within ten miles of the beach. Some of the stuff I mentioned last week about bunker explosions, coupled with this report, make me evermore optimistic about a 2021 surf tuna. The wind has been a  pain this week, but the potential is out there. One customer fished at Frisbie’s this week, and had a fully lit up, silver and blue white marlin swim past his boat. He said it was on the move. This got me juiced up because of the fishes my friend and I saw tail-walking a mere cast from the beach last week. I thought a surf tuna was ridiculous enough, but just imagine a surf marlin. Yeesh. And last but not least is a spearfishing report from Shinnecock. Dave Hughes dove down in search of exotics, and found just that in the form of triggerfish. He shot a couple to bring home for dinner.

Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports:

I am not sure what is worse, fog or wind. Fog is super dangerous when boating, but with good electronics and judgement you can fish and the fishing can be quite good, as evidenced by last Saturday’s reports. Sunday saw the fog clear out, but windy southwest winds really knocked down the bite. The sea bass opener did not disappoint, as many captains came back with limits or near boat limits over the first few days of the season. I was pleased to see some keeper fluke in the mix. We should see some pretty consistent bottom fishing across Eastern Long Island going forward into the summer season. As expected, bass fishing has tapered a little bit with the warmer weather; its time to start working lower-light times and tides. I have been somewhat surprised by the drop off in bluefish activity, but I think this will rebound in the near future. Porgies are moving into deeper cooler waters, and its a great time of year for a headboat trip. It’s time to start planning those special offshore trips and extended trips to favored summer spots like the Race and Block Island.

David at Westlake Marina in Montauk filled me in on the results of the Montauk Marine Basin shark fishing tournament last weekend. One boat sailing out of Westlake placed third: Jack Haberman brought in a 190-pound mako. A few other boats brought in some makos as well. These boats didn’t have to run more than five miles offshore to get into some good sharking. The sea bass fishing is very good right now, with fish to four pounds coming up regularly. Charles Drake weighed one in at 3.6 pounds the other day. Eight-year-old Penny Grogan brought in a 2.5 pounder this week. Those two fish are now at the top of the leader boards at the dock. Congrats Charles and Penny! The tuna bite seems to have moved east. All those 40ish pounders that were local have moved southeast towards Block Island. They’re still mostly within about 20 miles of shore. The striped bass bite remains phenomenal. The bite consists of nonstop big fish, absolute trophies. It’s the same story as last week, you have to pick through a bunch of over-slots to get one for the box. It’s a pretty awesome problem to have. Fluking has been the same for the most part. It’s been a slow start. There are lots of small fish, and not many keepers are coming to the cleaning table. If you need gear/rigs make sure you stop into Westlake, as they’re completely stocked with fluke stuff. The surf report has been quite slow, similar to my own experience: there is a pick here and there, not much to write home about.

Pat Gallagher of Tippin’ Scales Charters in Montauk got into some excellent bass fishing last weekend. Ninety percent of the stripers were over-slot; a majority of those fish were 44-50 inches. He’s been fishing live eels on both the day and night tides. He was also able to put some slot fish in the box. The fluking, on the other hand, was a bit slower. The sea bass were biting, but it’s just okay. He hasn’t seen anything great in that arena just yet. The shark fishing went really well. He had a crazy trip on Saturday, where they brought six blue sharks and one mako boat side. The mako was a just-short female, measuring 78 inches and weighing an estimated 250-300 pounds. Females need to be 83+ inches to keep (and males need to be 72+ inches to keep), so she swam off. He trolled around a bit, mostly looking for shark bait. He got some small to mid-sized bluefish for that. They followed some squid in and were easy to catch. He also noticed that the bluefish and sea bass were both spitting up sand eels. Give Pat a call at 845-232-1240 to book a trip.

Montauk’s Viking Fleet is doing a new kids program called “intro to fishing.” They spend the morning on the beach and the late afternoon on the water, offering fishing lessons at a very reasonable price. Check out their website for details. Yesterday afternoon’s fishing was slow, with a pick of short fluke and porgies. Some jumbo sea bass were found offshore. The morning trip fared much better, with lots of fluke and some nice ones to boot. Cate Schreck of Montauk took the AM pool with a seven-pound fluke. The day prior was much more productive, with good numbers of fluke (of all sizes) and some quality sea bass. Jackson Falco took the afternoon pool with a 4.65-pound fluke. A good variety of sizes were caught, and many took home some keepers. A three-pound porgy was the pool winner on the trip near the lighthouse. There were some bluefish around on that trip too. Bill Kinsley won the morning pool with a 5.25-pound fluke, which went home with him for dinner in West Islip. They ran a whale watching trip on Sunday, and were able to spot several humpbacks blowing mist high into the air. They even identified one as NYC0005. They saw this same whale in August of 2018 in the same vicinity it was spotted this weekend. They spotted 3 humpbacks, five storm petrels, 20 great shearwaters, 14 Cory’s shearwaters, and three sooty shearwaters.

Chris Albronda gave me the goods on Montauk:

It was another phenomenal (there it is again) week on the end. Striped bass are here in full force; a lot of slot-sized fish are being landed, and even more overs. They are being caught on a variety of methods from the wire, to live bait and light tackle. Bottom fishing is (again) phenomenal. The fluke are big, the black sea bass are jumbos, and the porgies are tremendous. Offshore is as good as it gets. The bluefin bite has been the best I’ve seen since I was a child. We had a run of nice fish in the 35-40 pound class. Further offshore in the canyons, the bigeye bite is legendary. Wolfpack’s are wreaking havoc on the spread, with multiple fish at once. The yellowfin are abundant, the mahi have made an appearance, and the shark bite has just begun, with threshers and makos being caught daily. Chris is doing open boat trips with Tailwrapped Sportfishing charters. Check them out on social media, and/or give Chris a call to book a trip at 631-830-3881.

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:

Sea bass season is on fire! The local wrecks and reefs are loaded up with big, gorgeous fish. Fish in the 4-6 pound range are common if you hit the right areas. Catch ’em up on jigs, or use clam or Gulp! on a rig. If you’re on the hunt for fluke, fish the shallows, flats and channels with a bucktail or Gulp! on a jig head for consistent action. The bay has some really solid fish hidden among the shorts. Bluefish are still all over; fish over ten pounds are still pretty common and most are in the 4-6 pound range. Bass action is pretty good inside, with some good slot-sized fish showing up in their usual spots. Clams are pulling them off structure, and the bass that are on bait can be pulled with topwater or swimming lures. The ocean has some larger fish taking diamond jigs, and trolling lures. Fish up to thirty pounds have been reported. Weakfish action is still good on the early morning tides. Finesse tackle in bright colors like pink and chartreuse will do the trick.

In the fresh water: the water is warming up quickly, and that means trout fishing and mid-day fishing are going to have to wait for a while. However, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pickerel, carp, crappie, and sunfish are all active in the warmer water and searching for food. Swimbaits, lipless cranks, jigs, soft plastics, and topwater lures are all great choices for summer bass and pickerel fishing. Topwater for the morning and evenings, everything else for mid-day. For the sunfish and perch, all you need is some worms and bobbers and you’re set to fish all day… perfect for the kids or a fun family day in the sun.

Long Island Forecast

It’s pretty obvious from the reports that you ought to get to Montauk ASAP. The effects from this storm could send fish scurrying, but I wouldn’t count on it. I have given up all hope that the meteorologists will ever offer correct predictions again. They say 0% and suddenly it’s torrentially downpouring with nearby lightning strikes, and probably tornadoes. They say 100% and it’s bluebird skies, every time. They’re batting .005 these days. It’s a pain in the neck. So, just go. Don’t listen to the weather forecast. It’s full of baloney. A note on June: I’d say it was probably the worst in history, from a surfcaster’s perspective. I almost feel bad saying stuff like that, because it’s only my perspective. If you were fishing the bays, you might have caught regularly all month. If you’re to the far west, maybe you were catching ‘em up pretty regularly too. Out here on the east end, though, the surf was completely desolate. I don’t know why. The water was cold – that’s the best I’ve got. Even in “phenomenal” Montauk, the surf scene was tough! Hopefully, July will produce a good bite. I sort of sense one coming on right now. A mass of bunker moved in to the beach a couple days ago. I’ve been documenting it with my drone. There are some predator fish on them, but not enough to realistically expect catching one. You’ll see what I mean if you check out my youtube video in a couple days at my channel “South Fork Salt.” Despite the relative lack of predator fish, it’s reassuring to see the bait show up. With the offshore fishery apparently doing so well, maybe this bait situation will entice some of those pelagics to grace the barren surf. Even if I can’t catch anything, I get very excited just to witness cool stuff happen in the ocean. Sorry if I sound like negative Ned this week. My dog’s sick, I’m overworked, and the fishing stinks. It is what it is. I’m typically a glass-half-full guy, but I’m friggin’ parched for some action. I think that’s all I’d need to get my spirits up. Hook me up, fish! I hope this report at least helps YOU catch some fish this week. Go get ‘em. Enjoy July 4th, do it safely, and best of luck keeping those lines tight.