Bluefish and stripers are in the mid-summer phase of the fishery, with stripers mainly targetable at low-light hours and night times. Bluefish are not as particular and can be found throughout the day. There has been a good cobia bite on the western half of the south shore, and sharks hugging the coast from Amagansett to western Nassau. Bottom bouncers are finding great fluking out east and out west.
There’s a ton of blue claw crabs around right now, and guys are getting them in the boat yards, marinas, and basically anywhere with low water and structure.
Fishing Report For Long Island
Ralph from Bernie’s Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn in Brooklyn says porgies are everywhere! There’s some real nice ones around too. You can find them near any type of rock formation, especially the bigger ones. Check near marine bridge, by round house, the Breezy Point jetty. You name it, they’re probably there. Ralph’s brother and his wife went out for a relaxing day on the boat, and happened to get into some excellent fluke fishing. On the first drift, he pulled up a seven pounder! He was drifting near Kennedy Pier. He had some other fish despite the deteriorating conditions.
Captain Dave fished Rockaway Reef for the past few days, and was able to put up some really nice catches. He found a bunch of fish; none over ten pounds, but a number of 7 and 8 pounders.
Josh at Gypsea Charters in the Rockaways reports:
Fluke fishing remains excellent, with quite a few limits being taken by anglers each trip. The abundance of life in the area has been keeping rods bent for the better portion of the day, with quality keepers and sea bass in the mix. This past week, we saw fish to nine pounds come over the rail. Quite a few 4-6 pounders came up as well. Fishing should remain good for a while, so pick a day and come on out! The Gypsea Star sails every weekend by reservation only, and is available for private charters during the week. Text for booking details: 516-659-3814
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin said there’s blacktip sharks all over the place at Long Beach.
Fish-wise, you can probably call it the summer doldrums, although there are still fish to catch. The striped bass can be targeted at night, and guys are getting into them. Effort is down due to the heat and rain. Tim O’Rourke out in Montauk has been killing it though, with plenty of bluefish and some bass farther east. The New England rivers have been high and dirty for the most part this past week. They were just starting to come down up until today, but Paul’s nervous that tonight’s rain might make them unfishable for his trip to the Housatonic on Monday. We shall see. Other rivers have been way too fast and high. Back here on the island though, the Connetquot is producing. Paul had a last minute cancellation when he was at the park, so he went and tossed some dry flies to rising trout. The trout were acting weird; they were moving out of the way of nymphs, and acting quite lethargic. He was able to get some bites from big fish over 17 inches on ants and stimulators. He brought five fish to hand.
On Saturday August 14, Trout Unlimited and Connetquot State Park are hosting a free “intro to fly fishing” event for kids. The event is free, you just need to pay for parking. There will be instruction on fishing, casting, tying, etc. Come on down at 5pm to take part!
Kathy from Freeport Bait & Tackle reports:
Captain Ray from “Carolann P Charters” slammed the sea bass again, acquiring a boat limit for his 6-pack in 1.5 hours. The secret weapon was freshly shucked and salted clams from Freeport B&T. Sea bass can be found at the Hempstead and McAllister Reefs, alongside some large fluke and porgies. If you’re looking for big porgies, head to Sunken Meadow park with a box of blood worms and/or sand worms. A lot of anglers have been catching sharks at Jones Beach Fields 4 and 6. They’re tossing out bunker to catch the toothy predators. Tuna fishing has been heating up. The shop is getting in fresh bait daily, and they have a huge variety of tackle in stock for all our local species and southern visitors.
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reports:
Lloyd Malsin of “Nansea II” went three miles off last Thursday in perfect conditions. The bunker schools were getting blown up on, but he targeted fluke instead. It was a good move, as he put 15 quality fluke in the box, and released over a hundred more fish.
Captain Willie of the Capt Lou Fleet in Freeport reports:
The fluking is still going strong out on the ocean wrecks. There’s been a lot of action and a good amount of keepers on the half-day trips. They’ll be targeting Black Sea bass in the ocean this weekend in the mornings. The Starstream VIII is sailing two 1/2 day trips daily. Book your trip at captloufleet.com.
Point Lookout’s Superhawk has been catching sea bass, porgies, fluke, ling and more. Gulp is the trick for the fluke. The fishing’s been pretty easy lately. Call Capt. Steve to make a reservation: 516-607-3004.
Captree’s Laura Lee found a good number of exotics this week to supplement the usual catch.
Sea bass fishing was insane on the morning trips. Fluke and porgy fishing were both quite productive on those morning trips as well. Other catches during the 7am trips include mackerel, triggerfish, cobia, bonito and ling. The 8am trips went just as well, with a comparable catch of exotics. Those earlier trips tend to be just slightly better though, numbers-wise.
If you can’t make the morning trips, that’s fine, because the afternoon and evening trips are going quite well. The catch gets mixed up a bit, with bluefish, cod, sea robins and dogfish. Mackerel seem to be popping up pretty consistently now, although not typically in huge quantities. That’s a good sign of fish to come!
The Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson has been into good numbers of porgy and big sea bass this week. The moon made for some tough drifts, but they powered through them and got the meat. A few weakfish and a short striper even made their way over the rail.
They’ll be sailing regularly, weather permitting. Go to celticquestfishing.com to buy a ticket.
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport says the north shore is inundated with bluefish. They’re stacked up in the bay, attacking the thousands of peanut bunker hanging out in the skinny water. A huge number of 4-5 pound blues wait till sunset to attack the 3-4 inch peanuts. It’s been quite a show for whoever’s there. There are tons of porgies around. Fluking is slow, but the fluke that are coming up are pretty big. They’re finding them in 60-80 feet of water. Striper fishing has been hit or miss. It’s not as good as a couple weeks ago, but that’s how it goes this time of year. The cooler, overcast days are the time to go for bass. Night time is also a good time to poke around for bass. Sea bass fishing has also been pretty good. There’s a ton of life around right now. The water clarity is pretty lousy these days, probably due to the rain, and maybe fertilizer runoff. But it has been a good season so far.
Dave Flanagan of North Island Fly reports:
The bluefishing continues to be top notch. Teen sized fish are in the deep water, 2-5 pounders can be found inshore, and tiny two inch snappers are blitzing in the harbors… they’re everywhere, and hopefully it never ends! As we get into August, we’ll move into a late summer pattern, and these fish will be a great way to bend a rod. There are still some big bass lurking out in the deep water, but you have to be patient to catch one. We should start seeing some nice action with slot-sized fish in the early and late afternoon hours among the boulder fields. These fish are looking for those snappers that are just settling in. It’s a great time to fish small topwater lures, jerk baits, topwater flies and deceivers. The amount of bait I’m seeing is very encouraging, dare I say it…. for inshore pelagics! You never know when they are going to show up, and based on other locations, I’m expecting some Spanish mackerel to come through sooner than later. Dave has a lot of openings in August. Book him for a charter now at northislandfly.com.
Craig at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says there’s plenty of bluefish locally. Check out the Gut and the Race to find them. You’ll encounter some stripers in the mix there if you go around sunrise or sunset. There’s still plenty of weakfish in the bay, from bug light to Noyac. Hit ‘em up on the outgoing tide. There’s a decent pick of fluke down at Gardiners and bug light. Montauk tends to be a bit steadier on the fluke front at times. Black Sea bass are in the deeper water in the Sound. Look towards 70+ foot depths. Porgy fishing is hot from here to Montauk. A few Spanish mackerel popped up the other day. Some blowfish and kingfish are getting caught in the harbors. Offshore, the bluefin bite has been good for a few weeks. East of Block is good, plus Cox’s ledge and tuna ridge. A few yellowfin have been showing up in the area as well. Check out the Ranger and Coimbra when the temperature break comes in close. Atlantis has been good for yellowfin. Swordfish action has been decent out at the canyon. And sharking has been really good. Blue claw crabs are in thick.
The Shinnecock Star in Hampton Bays has been picking up a mixed bag in the ocean this week. Fluke, mackerel, triggerfish, sea bass and porgies are the main game. “Skinny water fluking” in the bay has been putting up some good numbers of keeper fish as well.
Bryce at Whitewater Outfitters inHampton Bays reports:
In the bay, the snappers are starting to get big enough that they’re worth pursuing. There’s good bottom fishing going down, specifically for porgies, triggerfish, kingfish and blowfish. The fluking has been really good at times. You have to play the tide and conditions correctly, and when everything aligns, there’s some quality fish to be caught. In the ocean, there’s good sea bass and fluke fishing to be found on the reef. It can be tough, but there’s fish there. The striped bass situation, for late July, is surprisingly good. There’s still a bunch of slot fish around, and some guys are finding some over-slots. Drift eels at night, plug during the day, or bring some live bunker into the inlet and try dropping them to the bottom for a bigger class fish. In the canyons, there’s been a really good bite of bigeye and yellowfin tuna. More important is the inshore yellowfin bite, which has been stellar between 30 and 50 fathoms. There’s a good amount of fish that will bite consistently. Closer to home, you can find some bluefin around the inshore grounds. It gets better the farther east you go, with the epicenter being south of Block.
Surf guide Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball found some good fishing around the moon last Wednesday. The south side of Montauk was pretty productive in terms of big fish around that time. Patrick M. had a 30+ earlier that week. Bill took him out and they managed a bunch of schoolies. The next night bill took Mike C to the south side, and got into some decent fish pretty quickly. They made a move a bit west early in the morning. It was a good move, as Mike hooked into and landed his new personal best on a parrot darter. The bunker bite can be very sporadic, and you just have to go a lot to score big. Later, on the weekend, Bill and Liam B. Had a rough 5 hours on the south side, with only one schoolie to show for it. It’s possible the big fish moved on after the blow or after the moon phase.
David at Westlake Marina in Montauk says no sharks came to the dock this week, but one guy had a couple hammerheads on. The small bluefin bite is going well to the east and west. Head off about 20-30 miles and find the temperature break for a good day of battling 30 pound tunas. For big striped bass, head to the southwest ledge and drop an eel down. There’s some monsters hanging out over there. The fluke fishing is the best it’s been in some time! Lots of guys are coming to the dock with their limit, which hasn’t been a very common theme. They weighed in a couple twelve pounders this week, as well as a bunch of 6-8 pounders. Sea bass are holding fast, providing lots of bounty. The charter guys are taking their clients out to catch/release a couple big stripers, and then coming to collect some knucklehead meat on the way home.
Montauk’s Viking Fleet had a great weekend on the water. Saturday began at the lighthouse with the pool going to Billy the Greek, who caught a 2.5 pound porgy. Later in the day, Angelo Demetroulakos from Brooklyn took the pool with an 8.25 pound fluke. Sunday’s weather knocked the fishing down a bit, but they still put together a decent catch of fluke to 4.5 pounds, porgies and seabass. The whale watching trip over the weekend found a Minke whale and a mola mola.
On Tuesday afternoon, they picked through a wide range of different sized porgies, with fish to four pounds. Tim Mooney from East Meadow landed the biggest fluke in days, taking the pool with a seven pounder. A triggerfish started a good day of fishing yesterday. Giant sea bass and quality fluke were also coming over the rail. The good fishing continued right up through yesterday evening.
Chris Albronda gave me the goods on Montauk:
The striped bass report is very exciting, as a number of 60+ pound fish have been caught this week. People are regularly getting their personal bests. Bluefish, on the other hand, are quite scarce. The bottom fishing is phenomenal. Chris has been fishing on the Miss Montauk for fluke and sea bass; the bite was consistent all week, with double digits coming over the rail daily. Jumbo sea bass are hitting the deck as well. Sharking has been good, as there’s been multiple species being caught. Blue sharks, sand tigers, browns, threshers, makos, juvy whites, and even a porbeagle. They’ve been hanging out underneath the bunker schools. Whales and dolphins patrol the south side of Montauk, and can be seen from the beach.
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.
Long Island Fishing Forecast
The amount of sea life along our coast is astonishing. Every day, for two weeks now, there have been shark frenzies along most of the south shore of Long Island. For some reason, the buck stops at Montauk. Head to almost any beach west of there, and you’re in for a show. Look for the bunker schools, and the fish flying out of the water when a shark attacks. The Jones Beach lifeguards posted a video of a cobia swimming amongst the schools. One Jones Beach lifeguard apparently got cut by a shark tooth while out swimming. The news outlets will call it an attack, but the sharks are honed in on the fish big time.
I’ve been doing some snag and drop when I find free time in the mornings, hoping to come across one of these cobia. Free time’s tough to come by at this point in the summer, but I got up at sunrise today to shoot my shot. I ended up snagging a bunker, getting a take just a minute or two later, and watched a shark come flying out of the water, landing with a giant, frothy explosion. As it stole my line for fifteen seconds straight, I thought I was going to get spooled. Once I got the upper hand, I got the 9 foot spinner shark into the surf zone. At low tide, it was ridiculously tough getting the 100+ pounder over the beach lip, but I eventually did and was able to release it right there in the breaking waves. What a way to start the day!
I was nervous the quick spit of foul weather we had this past week was going to push the bunker out and take all the predators with it, but it only seemed to make them even crazier! My friend had a number of cut offs, and never had to wait long to get a take after putting a bunker out. Since then, there have been violent frenzies every morning. Even if you’re not fishing, or you are fishing and you can’t reach them, it’s a jaw dropping sight to behold. Jeez.
I’ve come across some more huge tuna on the bunker schools, but I imagine finding one with rod and reel would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack. They move quickly from school to school, and you never know which one they’re going to hit. When they do attack, they seem to be going for a mouthful, rather than targeting a single fish.
Bass are cruising up front doing their summer thing, as are dogfish and sea robins. You can sight fish them when the water is super clear, as it has been.
In the weeks to come, I’m hoping to see some bonito and spanish mackerel hit the sandy south shore beaches. It sounds like they’ve been hopping from inlet to inlet, and then straight out to Montauk after they ransack Shinnecock. Nothing on my front just yet.
Lord knows how long these big predators will stay close to the beaches, but I’m hoping it’ll be a while before they leave. It’s just so cool. Whales and dolphins are regular visitors too, with the latter coming within ten feet of the beach to feed on the menhaden.
It’s amazing out there. Get down to the beach, and enjoy the show.
Tight lines.
