Long Island Fishing Report – August 19, 2021

Joe Biscardi Sr. with a 9.38 pound fluke.

Some false albacore have been caught on the North Fork, amidst the many Spanish mackerel. Albies were also spotted at Hempstead Reef. Sharks are slowly but surely making their way west. They’re now focused on the shorelines by Cupsogue and Fire Island. Bluefin two miles off Rockaway beaches. Yellowfin on the Montauk Bluefin grounds. Lots of double-digit fluke came up this week.

Long Island Fishing Report

Frank from Bernie’s Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn says the fishing hasn’t changed much from the past few weeks. The main story these days is the inshore tuna bite. Guys are buying gear and running out to get in on the action before the storm potentially changes it up. There has been a good bite just two miles off the Rockaway shore. The fisherman buoy and Ambrose channel have been primo. The porgy bite is still cooking real nice. Anywhere you go, you’ll probably find them. We’ve still got Spanish Mackerel chewing in the early morning by Breezy Point.  The striped bass bite is primarily at night. Daytime anglers are having some luck in the deeper waters. Guys have been fishing in the harbors, looking for some bigger fish. Bluefish remain elusive from shore. Some guys are scoring from boats, but the action is spotty. Fluke action is spread out. You’ll probably have to go through 15-20 fish to get a keeper or two. Frank recommends adhering to structure, because that’s exactly what the fluke are doing. They’re hiding on the rough bottom, trying to ambush baitfish. The big ones are especially exhibiting this behavior. There are sharks, triggerfish, and cobia still kicking around. There’s been a nice presence of all the above this past week. Snappers showed up in good numbers. Remember, the limit is three, whether they’re large bluefish or tiny ones. Frank reckons a bunch of guys are on the verge of getting busted for overindulging. There are cow nose rays, and sea robins, and all the other fiends that can typically be expected in this warm August water.

Josh at Gypsea Charters in the Rockaways reports:

Fluke fishing was very good overall this week. We saw plenty of action on most trips, with quality fish coming up each day. The highlight of the week was Roger’s nine-pound pool fish, with quite a few over six pounds also hitting the deck. The Star will continue fluke fishing through the end of August, until we switched over to bass in early September. Call or text to book your spot: 516-659-3814.

Kathy from Freeport Bait & Tackle reports:

Les Kertes landed a nice 5.25-pound fluke on a white Spro bucktail while fishing in Center Moriches on Monday. He had a couple five pounders out on the Hempstead Reef as well this week. Tuna have been getting caught from Rockaway reef to Debs inlet. Anglers are catching them on topwater plugs. Albies were found near Hempstead Reef, as well as lots of sharks. One captain went out fishing Sunday with a charter off the Rockaways. They saw tuna and Mahi all around his boat, amongst many other fish. They wouldn’t bite anything though. Despite all the life they saw, they only managed to bring home one porgy and one sea bass. One angler caught a 180-pound bluefin tuna out there. Tuna reports have been coming in steady as the waters warm. There are lots of snappers in the bay, plus blue claw crabs. People are catching sea bass on the reefs, and porgies at sunken meadow. The shop is stocked up with everything you need to catch any of the aforementioned fish.

Captain Willie of the Capt Lou Fleet in Freeport reports:

The whale watching trip this past weekend was a great success. These guys have a knack for finding the cetaceans. Fluke fishing is still good, but has slowed down a bit from what it was. Some nice keepers are still coming up, alongside sea bass and porgies. Ocean Black Sea bass have been hungry, coming up over the rail regularly. The Starstream VIII is sailing two 1/2 day trips daily. Book your trip at www.captloufleet.com.

Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reports:

Lloyd Malsin of “Nansea II” fished AB reef all day this past Saturday for the Atlantic Beach rod and gun club fluke tournament. He boated 10 keepers and released over a hundred shorts. There were also mackerel, porgies, and sea bass in the mix. The Thursday prior (last week), Lloyd ran off looking for sea bass and found a ton. With them were endless bites from ling and fluke. The six man crew quickly caught their limit and got back to the dock early to clean their catch.

Lindenhurst Bait & Tackle reports:

Joe Biscardi and his son Joe Jr. weighed in a couple of2 real nice fluke for the Squaw Island Fishing Club fluke contest. Joe Sr.’s weighed in at 9.38 pounds.

Point Lookout’s Super Hawk found a ton of good fish this week. Jumbo sea bass were common, and some quality fluke came over the rail. Porgies were all over the bottom, making for some fantastic fishing for the children aboard. The catch of the week may have been a 10 pound 11 ounce fluke picked last Thursday. Call Capt. Steve to make a reservation: 516-607-3004.

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:

Fluking remains excellent inside the bay, and very good on the outside reefs. Bucktails tipped with Fat Cow strips, and Gulp mullets/grubs are getting smashed hard. We are fully loaded with 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 or sinkers to get down there quickly. 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 wonders on these fish. They also love big jigs sent straight down to them. Bucktails, diamond jigs, and epoxy jigs will all get smashed. For bigger fish, head to the wrecks farther off. Stripers still require a bit of local knowledge to find right now, especially anything of good size. The back bays and skinny water seem to be the best places to find a solid summer bass. Spanish Mackerel and Frigate Tuna are in thick, with Albies hot on their hardtails. The shop is fully stocked with lures ready to go for catching pelagics.

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. The few days in between of cooler weather should have them biting until a little later in the day and a bit earlier in the evening. As for lure choices, stick with swimbaits, lipless cranks, jigs, soft plastics, and topwater lures. Throw topwater lures for the morning and evenings for the best luck, 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 got into some absurd bottom fishing this week. Every day produced really good numbers of sea bass, porgies, and fluke. Sea bass were the most numerous, by far, with as many as 646 fish in one trip. It doesn’t seem like the time of day really matters, as sea bass numbered in the hundreds on many trips. Triggerfish were biting pretty good this week. On Friday the boat had nine big ones come over the rail in the morning. Different species made appearances at different times throughout the week. On Friday evening, 12 bluefish were caught. 22 cunner were taken on Sunday morning, and 16 mackerel came up that afternoon. Some cod were caught sporadically. Blowfish, blackfish, and barrelfish came up sporadically as well. 22 mackerel came up yesterday afternoon, and six triggers accompanied them. Today’s trip was canceled for maintenance, but they plan on sailing tomorrow.

Captain Stu Paterson of “Northport Charters” reports:

There are lots of big porgies around both in the bay and LI Sound. We’re still picking away at some keeper fluke while weeding through lots of shorts; there’s a ton of action at least. Kingfish and cocktail blues have been in the mix. Peanut bunker showed up this week in the slips at my marina, and there’s a lot of adult bunker in the bay and the Sound. Plus, birds started working off Eaton’s Neck light this week, picking off juvenile spearing and bay anchovies. There’s a lot of life that should be setting the scene up for a great fall run! Call or text today to make reservations: 631-707-3266. Or check out Stu’s website at northportcharters.com.

Rob at Wego Fishing Bait & Tackle in Southold says the first false albacore have shown face in the LI Sound. Two schools showed up this week, and anglers targeting the very many Spanish Mackerel in the area lucked into a number 10-12 pound albies. The Spanish Mackerel can’t just be mentioned in passing though, as the bite has been epic. There are so many up there right now. There have even been a few bonito mixed into the mackerel schools. There’s a ton of striped bass in the area. A lot of rat-sized fish moved in, but there are some big girls hanging amongst them. If you’re looking for bluefish, you’ll find a population at the Gut; it’s tough to get through all those stripers though. Sea bass has also been pretty phenomenal in the Sound. Guys targeting them off the beach have been lucking into some blackfish as well. Rob has high hopes for an even better tog season than last year, which was one for the books. In the bay, there’s a lot of blowfish and a number of kingfish. Go to about thirty feet of water and you’ll get into some nice porgies. Weakfish are chilling in the deeper holes.

Jeff at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports:

There’s some schoolie bass around, and it’s been solid considering it’s August. Fluke fishing has been good in the bay. Off of Montauk and south of Block, there have been some big ones getting pulled up. Back home, the ocean has been pretty slow, but there have been some quality flatties out by the reef every once in a while. There have been some yellowfin tuna in the 30-40 fathom range; they take some hunting, but there’s enough out there to find! Southeast of Block has been hosting some big bluefin lately. There’s been a number of 60-70 inch fish, and a bunch of overs that you can’t keep.

The Shinnecock Star in Hampton Bays has been grounded for a few days due to some engine problems. It’s a shame, as the fishing has been excellent lately. Fluke are going crazy in the bay. There’s a ton of bait around, and the water is clear. They’ve been able to watch the fish chase and grab their baits in ten feet of water. Outside the bay, there are loads of triggerfish and sea bass aplenty.

Surf guide Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball took Jed to the north side last night to find a nice mixture of boiling schoolies and bluefish. They picked a half dozen fish before dark on 3/4 ounce bucktails and rubber shads. They moved to the south side after dark and picked one fish on a chartreuse darter. Bill says the white bait has arrived. He believes the “fall run” will kick into gear around this next moon. Fish tend to begin their movement once the anchovies show. 

Montauk’s Viking Fleet reported an excellent offshore trip on the Five Star this week. Trolling resulted in a number of quality yellowfin tunas during the day, but the night bite put that to shame. At 3 am the bite kicked on, with fish taking jigs one after the other; the yellows were between 40-60 pounds. They left them biting at 5:30 am and headed for port. Back near the beach, small porgies at the point reigned supreme on Monday. They ditched those and headed for a rock pile up the beach, where the larger porgies were hanging out. Lots of small sea bass were offshore, but time spent hooking up resulted in everybody getting their limit of jumbos. 6 keeper fluke also came up. Later in the day saw more porgies and sea bass, plus some keeper fluke. This was the most keepers they’ve seen all month. Tony Cappo took the pool with his 6.65 pounders. Tuesday morning provided plenty of big sea bass, porgies, and a few keeper fluke. Jaime Wolf took the pool that trip with a five-pound triggerfish. The whale watching trip this weekend was nothing short of stellar, with 4 humpback sightings, 3 minke whales, one mola mola, and sixty bottlenose dolphins. What an exciting trip! The Viking Star crushed it on Wednesday’s morning and afternoon trips. Alex Smith won the edible pool in the morning with a 3.5-pound seabass. There were plenty of big sea bass, porgies, and one nice keeper fluke at 5 pounds. The afternoon trip was even better, with similar fishing, just more fluke. One rogue giant fluke came up though, as a nice treat for Diana Vest from Alabama. The fish was 8.1 pounds and won her the pool!

Chris Albronda gave me the goods on Montauk:

We have reached the lull in between the end of summer and the fall run. The striped bass fishing is tough right now. There are still a few fish being caught, but you really have to put in the time. Bottom fishing is definitely the way to go. Black Sea bass will bring you plenty of action, and as fluke season nears its end, your shot of catching a double-digit remains very high. Again, you just have to put the time in. I’ve had some epic trips on the Miss Montauk this season; make a reservation with them for one of your best chances at catching a double-digit fluke. The offshore scene is still going strong, with yellowfin in the mix on the bluefin grounds! Further offshore one can find mahi, yellowfin, bigeye, albacore, swordfish, and tilefish. The Viking Fivestar recently had some legendary trips lately. Their availability is limited, so reach out soon for the offshore trip of a lifetime. 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

I feel like this is the most exciting fishing season in recent memory. I’m sure every one of you reading this is thinking “there was this bite and that bite,” and they were so good that they’re burned into your memory. So, please let me know if I’m way off when I say the fishing this year is some of the best we, as Long Islanders, have ever seen.

I say that with a thousand yard stare, recounting the bunker being tossed hither and thither by sharks typically unseen this far north. I’m not even considering the fact that this year produced probably the best weakfish run since before I was born, or the giant bluefin tunas blowing up within a couple hundred yards of the beach, or the threshers and marlins filmed hunting the surf zone. 

For me, it’s the sharks. These shark blitzes on the South Fork beaches were some of the craziest stuff I’ve ever seen in my life. The only experience that rivals them was another shark blitz I experienced maybe 6 years ago. Then, there were probably 250 sharks breaching a dozen at a time through several acres of bunker, for about fifteen minutes that felt like an eternity. That still holds the number one spot. But, to have a watered-down version of that every single day for an entire month is absolutely extraordinary. 

I hear the words “frenzy” and “blitz” thrown around so irresponsibly these days. In this era of clickbait and buzzwords, you’ll see the caption “SHARK FRENZY” in bold, red, capital letters taking up the entire screen of a local news channel, then see a video of happy bunker easily dodging slow-moving sharks, and maybe a few spritzes of fish jumping to escape a shark’s trajectory. That’s not a blitz, nor a frenzy. Please excuse my rant; I just can’t help but think of the phrase “is nothing sacred?”

Those who have seen a blitz will understand where I’m coming from… those who haven’t seen one will probably think that they have. I hope you all get to see what I’ve seen though. The experience is grounding. It is awe inspiring. Bearing witness to such a great blitz forces the fact upon me that I am a small, pathetic animal in this huge world, in this huge universe. 

I love the ocean and I’m lucky to spend every day on the beach. The more time I spend here, the more it amazes me and the more I love it. It’s why I film it, and share my observations. I want everybody to feel the same way I do about the ocean. I want everyone to see it in the same light, and I want everyone to want to protect it.

Apparently, the scene has been similarly sharky to the west. The sharks have departed my area en masse. Stragglers remain, but the bulk of the spinners that ravaged the Hamptons’ coastal bunker population have moved on. It’s about time for them to make a very long trip south. I hope to see them again. But first, I hope you see them. Right now, beaches west of Shinnecock Inlet are closed to swimmers because of shark activity, all the way to Cupsogue. Fire Island beaches are laden with schooling sharks. From the videos I’ve seen in those areas, the sharks are ready to continue the feed. Someone is going to see something as cool as I saw six years ago, and it will forever change them. Go to the beach and seek out the action. Enjoy it.

The bunker schools are still all over the beaches. There’s still sharks on them by me. Whales, dolphins, and other predators are finding them, and putting on some incredible shows. Despite the sharks’ departure, I’d still say it’s as good as it gets.

We’ve got a big storm headed our way. Lord knows if we’ll be in its direct path; I hope not. People more knowledgeable than I am thinking it could be devastating. I think it’ll push the rest of these southern sharks away from our coast. I can’t even imagine what comes next (fish-wise) at this point. I’ve heard enough talks of albies, and seen enough rain bait on the beaches, that I think it could kick off our speedster season. Wetzel makes a good point that the rain bait could signal the beginning of the fall run. 

A storm of this capacity might create massive tides that pull tons of fish out of the bays, creating a buffet along the beaches. Look for lots of action near the inlets this next week. Play it safe if you’re going to fish the jetties when there’s big surf. I wouldn’t be surprised to see mullet running the beaches on Tuesday, with stripers in tow. Then again, despite the crisp chill in the morning’s air, it still feels pretty tropical out there. The sun’s blazing and the water’s very warm. Perhaps this storm will push some more gulf stream water into our coasts, making exotic species the norm after the weekend. Look for reports of offshore and southern fishes coming from the surf next week. Someone’s still gotta catch that surf tuna…

Go make those reports! Enjoy the shark show this weekend if you’re on the western ¾ of the island. Those of you on the South Fork, enjoy the cetacean show! North Forkers, I hope the albies multiply and your run is underway and one for the books. 

Life’s good on the water. Get out there. Tight lines.