The shark frenzies just won’t let up! Spinners still causing most of the mayhem on the east end. Juvenile great whites farther out by Montauk. Whales, dolphins, and tuna can be found here and there on the bunker schools causing the mayhem. Big billfish and tuna are at the canyons. Some bluefin found their way to the Rockaways. Some big cobia in Nassau County too. Good fluking to be found across much of the island. More and more mackerel showing up regularly. Lots of people are anticipating the false albacore.
Long Island Fishing Report
Frank from Bernie’s Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn says the scene hasn’t changed much since last week. The one development has been the arrival of tuna just a few miles out. A bunch of boats have been running out and getting in on the action. The fish are chewing off the rockaways right now, and they’re not very big. Spanish mackerel are still doing their thing. The porgies are definitely the number one potential currently. They’re here in good numbers. Stripers are on the chew at night mostly; if you want to fish the daytime, try deeper water. You just might find some keepers in the mix. Bluefish and fluke are both lethargic in the area. The bluefish might be laying low because of the sharks. Fluke are there in numbers, but the numbers are mostly shorts. Trying to catch keepers amongst them is tough work; you’ll have to pick through a lot of fish to get a limit. Then we’ve got our other fun fish: triggers, rays, sea robins, sharks, etc. They’re all out there. There’s still a few cobia being picked here and there, as well as some other warm water, exotic species. Albies can be expected to show sometime soon, but Frank hasn’t heard of any just yet. Snappers are showing up, and the crabbing has been spotty but good. One oddity that occurred this past week is a night time bite of porgies. Guys are fishing areas that are well lit, and bending the rods on scup into the night. Black bass are getting caught here and there. Customers are coming in to buy clams because sea bass has become a common bycatch.
Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin ran a trip to the Farmington this past week. The water was high, but clear. The bug life just wasn’t there though, and the fishing was tough. Paul’s wife kind of killed it though, catching the biggest, the most, and the first fish of the trip. The fly she was using was “that fuzzy white one.” Paul says she’ll never let him live this one down. The biggest fish of the trip was about 15 inches. Most anglers did not catch. They all got their fill of excitement from the many bears perusing their camp site though. Back home, guys have been running offshore to the Cholera and the Hempstead reef to catch some keeper fluke. Guys are getting their limits out there. That’s where you’re going to find most of the bigger ones now. Bluefish are around in the bay. One customer came in to reminisce about a nice bite by Jones Beach. The fish have been a bit far out, so he’s been catching them on the spinning rod. The Connetquot is fishing well these days, and there’s a special event there this Saturday. The Connetquot River Fishing Festival will take place at 5pm, and is free to the public. Kids can fish for free, and there will be demonstrations regarding fly fishing/tying/etc. At night they’ll be showing movies, which will cost 25 dollars. All proceeds go to Trout Unlimited. Arrive after 5 for free parking. This will be a great introduction to fly fishing. For more info, and to buy tickets to the movies, check out Paul’s website www.RiverBayOutfitters.com.
Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reports:
George and Steve of “No Excuses” got out to the Rockaway Reef this past Friday morning. They dropped down a live bunker and caught a 50.35-pound cobia. Captain Andrew of the “Sea Moose II” spent last Saturday limiting out on the fluke grounds. He ran out to some inshore reefs for his bounty. He says any big shipwreck or rock pile holds at least a dozen keepers right now. All of his fish came from Hempstead reef that day. Capt. Matt Roth of “Beast” took out George the Greek this Saturday. They ran to the AB reef to target fluke. It was the right move, as George boated a 6.75-pound fluke.
Captain Willie of the Capt Lou Fleet in Freeport reports:
Ocean fluking has remained consistently good. Some days are better than others, but overall there has been a good amount of action and keepers. There have been good quantities of sea bass in the mix. Their whale watching trips lately have been excellent. Photographers have been getting some awesome pictures The Starstream VIII is sailing two 1/2 day trips daily. Book your trip at www.captloufleet.com.
Point Lookout’s Super Hawk has been putting their clients on plenty of porgies, fluke, and quality sea bass. Gulp is taking the fluke, and the sea bass are chewing hard on clams. Call Capt. Steve to make a reservation: 516-607-3004.
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:
Fluking action on the inside is on fire, with solid keeper fish coming over the rails, plus plenty of shorts to keep your rod bent. Bucktails tipped with Fat Cow strips, and Gulp mullets and grubs are getting smashed up. The shop is loaded up with fresh orders of both. The classic squid and spearing combo will always do the trick on the flatties too. The ocean bite is going well on the reef and local wrecks. Just size up your bucktails and whatever trailer of choice and you’ll be on ’em. Sea Bass action at the wrecks is also pretty killer, with lots of 4-6 pound fish coming up. Clams on the shop chicken rigs always do work on these fish. They also love big jigs sent straight down. The wrecks farther off are holding some serious sized fish and they are plentiful. Stripers require a bit of patience and local knowledge to find right now, especially anything of size. The beaches and back bays are holding solid fish. Clams at spots of structure like bridges and sand bars will be holding decent bass action as well. Spanish Mackerel and Frigate Tuna are in, so the Albies should not be too far behind. We are fully stocked with lures ready to go when they’re all in thick.
Freshwater action remains, with the same summer advice. You can target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pickerel, carp, crappie, catfish, and sunfish all morning and evening. Swimbaits, lipless cranks, jigs, soft plastics, and topwater lures are all great choices for bass and pickerel in the summer months. Throw topwater lures for the morning and evenings, and everything else mid-day. Work the grass lines, lily pads, stumps, logs, and any other structure. For the sunfish and perch, all you need is some worms and bobbers and you’re set to fish all day, or you can toss an inline spinner or small soft plastic jig for some really fun active fishing! These little fish are tons of fun for any angler no matter the skill level or age.
Captree’s Laura Lee has been on the bite both day and night. Sea bass are chewing strong after 6pm, providing boat limits. Porgies and ling can typically be counted on for those trips as well. A bonus cod or two might even come up. Triggerfish are becoming more and more prevalent, with some trips finding up to a dozen big ones. Mackerel are also providing a somewhat stronger presence than weeks past. Bluefish and sea robins have rounded out the catch on most days. Fluke are biting pretty well, vying for second place with the porgies. It really just depends on which trip you fish. Monday saw a few different species: blackfish, barrelfish and flounder came over the rail. Barrel fish actually came up a bunch of times this week. Cunner have provided a pretty consistent presence. And finally, one cow nosed ray was caught on Tuesday.
There’s still porgies aplenty for those fishing aboard the Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson. Even on crummy days, the fish are chewing. There seems to be a lot of smaller porgies around now, but keepers are still coming home for the table. Sea bass have also been quite a reliable target. They’ll be sailing regularly, weather permitting. Go to celticquestfishing.com to buy a ticket.
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport says if it wasn’t for the weather, it’d be all sunshine and unicorns. The fishing has been great on all fronts. Snappers, fluke, weakfish, bluefish, stripers, stingrays, sharks, sea robins, sea bass, porgies… the list goes on, and they’re all biting well. The north shore is red hot. The beach bite has been good, with fish mostly from 4-6 pounds. The bigger blues are out in the shipping channel, and they’re feisty. The weather is pretty much unpredictable, but the fishing is reliable. Get out there!
Captain Stu Paterson of “Northport Charters” reports:
The bite remained strong this week in the LI Sound. We found some keeper fluke on the porgy grounds, which is an interesting find in August. There are lots of porgy and fluke coming up, keeping rods bent and anglers happy. We’re still catching kingfish, with some bluefish in the mix. There are loads of adult bunker, spearing and bay anchovies in north shore waters right now. Call or text to today to make reservations before school’s back in session: 631-707-3266. Or check out Stu’s website at northportcharters.com.
Dave Flanagan of “North Island Fly” is still crushing the bluefish these days. The fishing looks fun, and nonstop. The fish aren’t monsters, maybe topping off at 10 pounds or low-teens, but that’s a perfect size for fly and light tackle. Dave has a lot of openings in August. Book him for a charter now at www.northislandfly.com.
Rob at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says the bay scene is pretty awesome lately, with Spanish mackerel making a strong run right now. Rob says in a week or two, they’ll move out to the Sound side. Bluefish have also moved into the bay. Find your best porgy fishing in 50-60 feet of water. Head over to bug light right now and you can luck into a very nice weakfish. There’s some fluke in the mix with them. You’ll find some blues and Spanish mackerel by buoy 16. In the Sound, the porgy bite off the beach is pretty awesome. Sea bass are getting caught by the same anglers, and they just keep getting bigger as the day goes on. Striped bass action is slow, but guys are still picking a few here and there. Spanish mackerel and blues are beginning to make their presence known out there. Over by Plum Gut, there’s a good bluefish bite going on; the striped bass aren’t very numerous. Move to the Race and you’ll probably find some bass, even some decent ones. There’s bluefish and sea bass there as well. In fact, the sea bass are just about everywhere. Down by Montauk, guys are picking some big fluke from Cartwright and Frisbee’s. They’re doing the same by the windmills of Block Island. Some big sea bass are coming out of those waters too.
The Shinnecock Star in Hampton Bays has been finding fluke, sea bass and triggerfish both inside and outside of the bay this week. There’s some serious size to the triggers, and plenty of keepers of the other species. Now is a very good time to book a trip.
Bryce at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports:
Fluking in the bay is decent, although very condition-based. The ocean has been more of a grind. It’s better quality fishing, percentage-wise. You’re going to have to bounce around to find some fish. Sea bass are hanging on the local pieces. Find a virgin piece of structure, and you can probably mug ‘em up pretty good. The reef would provide a pick otherwise. There are small bluefish around, but nothing to write home about; they’re good eating fish. There are definitely some bass in the bay and inlet. The bite is tide-dependent. Fish at dawn, dusk, and night for your best chance. Snappers seem like they’re starting up pretty good in and around local marinas and docks. Blue crabbing is very good right now. There are lots and lots of small ones, but the crabbing scene is looking great as a whole. There’s plenty of shark activity around the beaches. Lots of guys are having fun playing with them on all sorts of tackle. The Peconics are holding a few porgies, blowfish and kingfish. Triggers are hidden amongst the jetties around the bay. On the tuna front, canyon fishing is good. There’s been some great activity with yellowfin, albacore, and billfish. Inshore fishing around Shinnecock has been a bit of a grind. Yellowfin are about 20-40 miles offshore. If you want one, you’re going to have to grind it out hunting for them. Look for temperature breaks, bird life, and porpoises. There should be some fish there to catch.
Rick from Harbor Marina of East Hampton reports:
Fluking on the east end remains exciting, if not completely frustrating, with some off-the-hook days with multiple keepers; other days you’re getting covered up by short seabass, just-short fluke, and sea robins. You really have to work over an area to score. Summer stripers are almost nonexistent. Bluefish are in their usual summer haunts. The gut and the race are your best bets. Look for light tackle opportunities, but heavier tackle is recommended. The bottom fishing is pretty good, although finding the dinner plates and the biscuits requires a little work. Tuna & shark fishing remain decent options but there’s no real concentration of tuna inside the canyon yet. Sharking is a good fallback option, or a second half of a tuna run. It’s definitely an off-year thus far. Temps are warm and the bite is off, as it should be, but it seems that the overall numbers are down or fish are spending more time elsewhere (offshore, or to our North, and deeper). I am looking into some new trip plans this week. It will be interesting to see how the fall migration sets up. I am looking forward to a great fall fishing season.
Surf guide Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball took a couple guys out on the south side this past Friday. They found some slot sized schoolies, and then a nice upper teen bass on a chartreuse SS darter. Needlefish and SP minnows picked a number of schoolies before they threw in the towel. Bill spent the next day on the beach at Smith Point, where he saw a 100 pound tuna leap out of the water just 50 yards from shore. Sunday night’s charter just resulted in one short striper. The water was murky and the area felt borderline fishless. Kenny the fireman hit an east end inlet and hammered some 6-7 pound bluefish. Not one striper was taken by the twenty other anglers on the rocks. The spear fishermen said there were some big bass hanging in the rocks, they just weren’t feeding on this slack tide. Those guys managed to shoot some triggerfish to bring home though.
Chris Albronda gave me the goods on Montauk:
The striped bass fishery has dwindled a bit, but there are still some big fish and slot stripers to be caught. Bottom fishing remains phenomenal. The Miss Montauk has had some phenomenal trips with multiple double-digit fluke per day. Black Sea bass has also been very productive as well. The offshore bluefin bite has slowed down; there seems to be more giants around than anything. Shark fishing is as good as it gets. This seems to be the year of the juvenile great white. If you go sharking, make sure you know the difference between a mako and a great white. Porgy fishing from the beach has been amazing. 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 Forecast
We keep getting these little spits of bad weather, and I wake up after one thinking “was yesterday the last day I’ll have seen these shark frenzies?”
Luckily, both the predators and prey remain, and the action continues. I don’t know what it’s going to take to make these critters skip town at this point. I imagine a big storm and an influx of cold water could push them out. Maybe that will happen overnight; maybe it will happen over the course of a week. The forecast says our last eighty degree day (for now) will occur this weekend. We’ll experience a bunch of nights with air temps in the 60s afterward. It seems likely to me that the year of the shark will die down during that chill. These are primarily southern sharks making all the noise after all. They aren’t used to cold water. They’re more than welcome to stay a while, if it was up to me, but all good things must come to an end.
If you haven’t experienced any of this near-shore explosive action yet, you NEED to get down to the beach in the morning. Sometimes the action persists through the afternoon, but it’s mostly going down before 10am. To say the sharks are “breaching” doesn’t do it justice. They’re friggin exploding through these bunker schools, doing friggin ninja cartwheels 6 feet in the air with a mouth full of bunker stuck in their fangs. They land with a giant crash, leaving onlookers’ jaws on the dry sand. You might never swim in the ocean again, but it’ll be worth it. Here’s a little taste:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHFtskabio0
Go see it while you still can.
While you’re down there, partake in the fun fishing opportunities available. Those sharks are coming within 50 feet of the shoreline at times. When they’re too far out, odds are there’s plenty of stripers cruising right at your feet. Target them with small presentations. At sunrise and sunset, the stripers aren’t so picky, and neither are the blues that come in. Most lures will do the trick, but I typically opt for a bucktail or diamond jig at those times of day. Keep your eyes peeled for the small blitzes occurring on the rain bait. You can catch a variety of species under those. There have mainly been frigate mackerel, spanish mackerel, and shad sending the bay anchovies airborne and sparkling in the sunlight.
If you’re lucky, you might even get to see some humpback whales lunge feeding right off the beach. That’s when the launch half (or more) of their bodies out of the water with their mouths agape to capture as many bunker as they can in one fell swoop. That is hands-down my favorite thing to witness on the beach. I took my friend Jay out fishing this morning, and we had the pleasure of observing 3 lunge feeding humpbacks just 50-100 feet from the beach. As I droned, Jay caught a bluefish on a bucktail, to be eaten later today for lunch.
To me, life is as good as it gets when the fishing is this good. As much as the work situation might have sucked for me (or any one of us) this summer, I have to conclude that this is one of the best summers of my life. The sights I’ve seen feel like they’ve been branded in my brain. I can only hope that the future holds equally incredible experiences.
Like I said, get out and enjoy it while it’s still going on. Hot spots for shark action (that I know of) are Jones Beach and the Hamptons. I do not believe you can go wrong though; I get the impression that there’s action on the bunker schools all over Long Island’s south shore. I hope that steers you right.
One last thing I’d like to showcase before signing off is the shark study being spearheaded by a group of awesome folks along with the South Fork Natural History Museum. If you think my drone videos of the sharks are cool, the underwater videos these folks have been getting of spinner sharks this summer are going to blow your mind. It’s like they equipped a shark with a gopro… a smart gopro that reads depth, speed, acceleration, temperature, and all sorts of other metrics to help learn about these southern visitors. Check out the following instagram pages for some of the coolest shark/wildlife content I’ve ever seen: @Mojoshark, @FishGuyPhotos, @SoFoMuseum.
Tight lines you fishy folks.
Question about charters for bonita/albies late September. I’m looking to treat a buddy to a 60th birthday trip and can’t decide on Montauk, RI, or the Cape. They’ll be in the eastern end of CT but looking for where the best shot at an epic day might be. Thanks.