Long Island Fishing Report – August 5, 2021

The daily shark frenzy continues for the third week in a row, right on the beach. Giant tuna within a ½ mile of shore. Some solid yellowfin out there too (maybe a bit farther out). Big stripers by southwest ledge, hanging with jumbo sea bass. Good sea bass and porgy fishing in the Sound. Tremendous amounts of sea bass along the south shore. Awesome fluking this past week in the east end ocean and bay. Good week for blue: bluefish and blue claw crabs have been around in extremely healthy numbers.

Long Island Fishing Report

Josh at Gypsea Charters in the Rockaways reports:

This past week again saw good fluke fishing when the conditions permitted. Some days were better than others. Many anglers went home with their limits of nice sized fluke to nine pounds. We also started our summer camp this week, which saw some awesome local porgy fishing. The Gypsea Star is available for private charters, sunset cruises, and open boat trips. Text for booking details: 516-659-3814

Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin said the first light bite is where it’s at. A customer came in with some photos of the fishing he did this morning at the inlet, and stories of outstanding blitzes. The amount of spearing in the water was ridiculous, and there were stripers, bluefish and sea robins attacking them all over the place. The word he used was “pandemonium.” Awesome. Paul tried his luck at the Carman’s River this Tuesday, and didn’t exactly luck out. His wife caught a couple chubbs, and really gave him some grief about her being high hook. Another angler who targets the Carman’s regularly told him he’d have done better if he went upstream to where there are more natural springs. The fish seem to gravitate towards them as the temps warm. The LI Flyrodders had a trip up to the Housatonic this week, and the conditions were unfortunate. The water was so high from all the rain they’re getting, so they could hardly even get into the river. They did manage a few fish near the banks though. Paul’s hoping the flow slows for his planned trip to the Farmington this Monday.

Guides Tim O’Rourke (Montauk) and Dave Flanagan (Northport) have been hammering some fun bluefish for the past week or two, having a ball. There’s more bluefish around this year than usual, which is awesome for us light tackle lovers.

Kathy from Freeport Bait & Tackle reports:

Captain Ray of the “Christine P” has been catching a huge amount of sea bass. He caught three hundred on his last trip, with the largest being 5 pounds. They’re in thick off the Hempstead and McAllister reefs. The cholera was also cooking for a while, but no recent reports have come from there. There’s so many sea bass, they’re getting in the way of fluke fishermen. One angler said his trick was to use belly strips since the sea bass are entirely honed in on the gulp and clams. Spearing/squid will also do the trick. Some porgies are getting caught out at those wrecks and reefs as well. There’s been some bigger bluefish in sea dog creek. There’s been a dredging effort underway for some time there, and when the work stops, you can fish the chummed-up area for some solid fighting blues. The shark situation is phenomenal. Dan Capone of “Three C Sons” caught a big dusky off his boat on a snagged bunker. One customer, Harold got into a nice fluke bite in Jones inlet, where he caught over forty fish. There were a couple of keepers in the mix. There’s also some sea robins to be caught while fluking in the inlet. The tuna bite is really good right now. Guys have been coming into the shop and snatching up whatever tuna gear/bait they can get their hands on. Rigged ballyhoos are a fan favorite. The blue claw crabs are in thick right now. For some easy striper fishing, check out any lit-up docks, as stripers will adhere to the shadow lines in the night.

Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reports:

Capt. Al, Joe Chris, Biagio of “Bigfoot III” got out into the Reynolds Channel and the AB reef this weekend to target some bottom fish and sharks. The fluke were chewing up a storm, and they boated about 100, with three keepers. They kept two sea bass to three pounds and released forty. Porgies, bluefish, and brown sharks rounded out the day. Lloyd Malsin of “Nansea II” fished for fluke in 70 ft, boating four keepers and releasing 100 shorts. Ling came next, with 25 nice ones coming up before the wind accelerated. There were lots of boats out targeting tuna.

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. The Starstream VIII is sailing two 1/2 day trips daily. Book your trip at www.captloufleet.com.

Point Lookout’s Super Hawk Fishing is catching some tasty fish lately, and the fishing can be quite easy. It’s a great situation for beginner anglers. Sea bass, porgies, and fluke are the primary targets. Call Capt. Steve to make a reservation: 516-607-3004.

Captree’s Laura Lee saw a consistent week of fishing, with many of the same species being caught in good numbers. Sea bass, ling, and fluke were the mainstay, numbering in the hundreds per day. In fact, on Saturday they boated over a thousand sea bass. Mackerel were a pretty common catch this week, as were the triggerfish. Fluke to 5.5 or 6 pounds were caught on the reg, and porgies were numbering in the forties since Monday. There’s a real solid variety of species getting caught these days. Make sure you get out there while the getting’s good.

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:

Fluking is better than ever right now; a solid amount of keepers are getting caught every trip, as well as plenty of shorts to have fun with. 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. Pops and I went out after we closed on Sunday, and we were all over solid fluke every drift. The finesse game was key, as the bites were very subtle. We took home a one-person limit of keepers, all over 20 inches, with the biggest being a monstrous 27 inches! Sea Bass action is on fire at the wrecks, with lots of 4-6 pound fish coming up. Clams on the shop chicken rigs always puts them in the boat. They also love big jigs sent straight down to them. The wrecks farther off are holding the bigger fish, with some monster porgies mixed in. Stripers require a bit of patience and local knowledge to find right now. The beaches and back bays are holding decent fish we have seen up to 15 pounds. Clams fished near structure like bridges and sand bars) will be holding decent bass action. Pelagic fish like Spanish Mackerel and Frigate Tuna have been spotted and caught already, which means Albies should not be too far behind. We are fully stocked with lures ready to go when they all come in numbers.

In the freshwater – we have had a bit of a cooling trend lately but the water is still pretty warm mid-day. Trout fishing and mid-day fishing are going to have to wait. It can be fatal for the trout and the other species won’t be biting with full enthusiasm. In the meantime, you can target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pickerel, carp, crappie, catfish, and sunfish all morning and evening. These species are all active in the warmer water and they are hungry for a quick meal! 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!

Mark at Cow Harbor Bait & Tackle in Northport says there’s some larger bluefish around, along with some striped bass in the mix. Head out into deeper waters to find the bigger bass, but you’ll have to work them up from the deep. Schoolie action has been picking up inside the harbors. Mark attributes it to the influx of cool weather fronts lately. Check out the back marshes and creeks to bend the rod on some bass. Inside the harbors, there’s some smaller blues to be caught. There’s also a ton of snappers, just about everywhere in the back bays. You can find lots of blue claws back there as well. The porgy fishing is insane; Mark says you can catch them if you cast backwards. Perhaps the greatest news is there’s a tremendous amount of small weakfish around this year. The increased population we’ve been seeing the past couple years must have put out a good spawn, and that makes us happy to see. They’re selling shrimp, worms and clams are the shop, all three of which work extremely well and have their ideal applications. Give them all a try. Also check out the shop’s website, where you can find some really awesome looking apparel like hats and clothes to rock.

Captain Stu Paterson of “Northport Charters” reports:

We are bending the rod daily with multiple species of game fish! We had some nice fluke come over the rail this week to six pounds. Weakfish are still local; cocktail blues and schoolie bass were hanging out under the birds this week. Also, sea bass are showing up in the Sound, and I caught a northern kingfish in the bay. The scup bite is lights out, with fish to three pounds. Lots of adult bunker are hanging in the bay and the Sound. There’s a tremendous amount of life here! The cooler north-northwest winds have been a nice cooling relief from the humid days on the water for me and my crew. Call or text to today to make reservations: 631-707-3266. Or check out Stu’s website at northportcharters.com.

The Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson found porgies and sea bass as their main quarry this week. A solid bite persisted throughout the week. The sea bass had some size, and the porgies were in thick. A striper and a weakfish also came aboard as bonus catches. They’ll be sailing regularly, weather permitting. Go to celticquestfishing.com to buy a ticket.

The Shinnecock Star in Hampton Bays is having an awesome week. Solid sea bass were coming up in pairs, and triggerfish are chewing pretty regularly. Danny picked a 10.5-pound fluke from some skinny water (9 feet deep) in the bay. He was fishing a dropper rig with two bucktails tipped with Gulp.

Kenny at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor says we lost a lot of fishing due to the winds over the past week. The Peconics are fishing terribly, as they tend to this time of year. Small porgies and small weakfish can be found there. Small bluefish can be found by Jessups. Kenny recommends you either head west to Shinnecock, or east to Montauk, as we’re in the doldrums on the bay side. One final negative note is the Gardiner Island ruins, which are infested with seals. Kenny says they’re not fishing properly because of them. The ocean and bigger structures are holding some fish though. The sharking off the beaches this week has been spectacular. Guys are running to Block Island to fish the southwest ledge, which is holding loads of big stripers and Black Sea bass. Good fluke fishing can be found out by Cartwright, in 70-100 feet of water. Shinnecock is producing bluefish and some speedsters. Spanish mackerel and bonito were caught there this past week. Ken hasn’t really heard of any striper reports from there this week. The Gut and Race are holding some okay bluefish, maybe 6-8 pounds. The ones at Jessups are more like 1-2 pounds. Offshore, there’s some bluefin tuna scattered throughout the 80 foot depths. They’re mostly school bluefin, about 50 pounds.

Montauk’s Viking Fleet had an excellent whale watching trip this Sunday, spotting two Minke whales and one humpback within thirty minutes of passing the Montauk light. The fishing was excellent that day too, with rods bending all day long. Porgies, sea bass and fluke were coming over the rails regularly. On Monday, Holger Camacho of East Hampton picked a three pound porgy to take the pool. Diane Miller of Easton, PA took the morning pool with a four-pound fluke. Tuesday was even better, with some seriously jumbo porgies and sea bass coming up regularly. A few keeper fluke were taken. The pool went to two anglers who tied with 5.5 pound fish. Scott Troy from Oceanside got a 5.5 pound fluke, and Michaela Nielsen from Rocky Point has a 5.5 pound sea bass! Later on, Larry Fitzpatrick claimed both pools with his three pound porgy and 4.2 pound sea bass. Offshore fishing has been solid on the Viking Fivestar. Captain Steven Jr. says the tile fishing has been great, and they’ve continued to pick away at the yellowfin and bigeyes. The recent trip saw a handful of yellows, a pair of 120-130 pound swordfish, and a 260 pound bigeye hit the deck. Deteriorating weather the past couple days has slowed down the fishing slightly. They’re still out there catching though.

Chris at Westlake Marina in Montauk says the fluke bite was awesome this week over by the wind farm. Guys were catching some solid fish just to the east of them, in about 90 feet of water. One customer did really well with Black Sea bass over there, closer to the southwest ledge. He even had a cod as bycatch. August is when cod begin to become a more prominent catch around these parts. For a long time there was a good bite at Cox’s ledge in August. These fish seem to be making a comeback, and maybe we’ll see some numbers. Offshore, there’s been more yellowfin showing up. They’re pretty small, at maybe 40-50 pounds, but that’s still a nice treat and they are scattered all over the 30-mile mark. The Ranger and butterfish hole are good options to check. There’s quite a few up on the flats off of Block canyon. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of bigeye getting caught this week. Some longfin albacore were taken instead. One cool story came from a customer’s girlfriend, who pitched a diamond jig into a local bunker school. A 100-pound mako quickly took it and dragged them around for a few miles.

Surf guide Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball received some solid member reports this week.

One surfcaster tried his luck near Montauk point with some circle-hooked rigged eels. It didn’t take many casts to catch a handful of slot fish. A couple of his eels got chopped up, presumably by bluefish. He tried artificial lures the rest of the night, and received no more bites. Another angler targeted NYC waters near Westchester. He had a hit on a pencil popper around sunset; the scene quieted down, until he threw on a metal lip, which picked a fish just within the slot. Peter R. fished the open beach on the eastern south shore early yesterday morning. He picked three schoolie bass, bluefish from 1-5 pounds, hickory shad and one sea robin. The bass were in tight. Two took a parrot super strike darter, and one took a sand eel jig. There was tons of bait everywhere: bunker, spearing, sandeels, peanuts, snappers, shad, etc. Whales were breaching a way out, and sharks were in close harassing big pods of bunker. Around dawn there was a 6 foot shark slowly swimming just fifteen feet from the beach. The bluefish were hitting halfway out to the bunker schools.

Frank from Bernie’s Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn says first on the list is sharks. There’s a bunch of different types around, and they’re all over the place, in close. Guys are catching them on the beaches, and near the marine parkway bridge, Kingsboro and over in Tom’s River. There’s been a very good presence of Spanish mackerel this year. Guys are catching them accidentally and intentionally, especially in the early morning. You’ll find the best striper action at night. If you’re going to target them in the daytime, you’ll want to find some deep, deep water. Bluefish get honorable mention. They were here thick not too long ago. It seemed like a really strong season; then they kind of just disappeared overnight. There’s still some being caught here and there, but the presence has died down. It’s possible they caught wind of the sharks. Keeper fluke are lethargic, at best. The biggest ones are coming from the reefs, wrecks, and rough bottom. Back closer to shore, you might catch a lot of fluke, but the ratio is about one keeper for every 25 shorts. If you stick it out on the snaggy spots, you stand a chance at a decent fish. Porgies are probably providing the best action this week. They are everywhere. The wrecks are holding 3+ pound fish. Guys fishing from shore are catching plenty of keepers, and a 20-30 fish session is quite common. Sea bass has been a common porgy bycatch, especially at the reefs. They get all over those clams and worms. Cobia have been in good this year. Other years, you’ll hear of one or two for a season. This year, it seems like they’re finding private and party boats pretty regularly. Some have even come to the surfcasters. Blue claws are starting to show up in good numbers. They have a good presence on Staten Island, and are beginning to appear in the NY Bight. Snapper blues are also beginning to make some noise.

Dave Flanagan of “North Island Fly” reports:

There’s a lot of bluefish out this way. It is unreal how good the fishing has been. Some days they are feeding on micro bait, peanuts, and even tiny crabs; other days they are puking up bunker and squid. It was on fire the other night until a ~600-pound grey seal came up and stole one of our teen-sized blues. The bass fishing in skinny water has been excellent with these cooler temps at night, and the insane amount of micro bait. I’m expecting species like Spanish mackerel to make an entrance sooner than later… you never know what you’ll run into this time of year. Dave has a lot of openings in August. Book him for a charter now at www.northislandfly.com.

Chris Albronda gave me the goods on Montauk:

Bottom fishing is providing some jumbo fish from a variety of species. The fluke fishing is phenomenal, and there are some big sea bass in the mix. The porgies are thick as well. The striper fishery is producing some slot fish. The shark and tuna bite is still on fire. According to Paulie’s Tackle, bluefish can be caught in the surf on super strike and tsunami poppers, with some bass in the mix. 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

Mark it down as another insane week for the books. The shark frenzy continues. Entering the scene are speedsters, be they bonito, Spanish mackerel, frigate mackerel, or who knows what else. The hardtails have been coming close to shore, feeding upon rain bait, sending them flying. At golden hour, it makes for a beautiful show, like there are little bits of jewelry exploding out of the ocean.

The shark insanity continues, but what intrigues me, even more, are the creatures that I can’t see all the time. There might be a group of tuna right near the surf, and you just have no idea. My latest and greatest encounter was when I flew out to follow a humpback whale who was slapping the water with its giant pectoral fin. It was a crazy sight, and I knew I needed to investigate. By the time I reached the whale, it had made it about a quarter to a half-mile offshore. I could see a dark school of bunker, far darker than anyone of the ones right in the surf. The darker they are, the more afraid.

The whale slapped the water, and when I got out to the dark school, there were multiple humpbacks corralling the fish. The whales were opening their mouths like they were feeding, but it seemed much less “frantic” than the nearshore feeds. The breaches were slow, and they seemed calculated. I actually thought they weren’t eating any fish, but rather reshaping the school. It’s possible they were trying to help out the dozen sharks surrounding the school, but I didn’t really believe that. What I DO believe now is that the whale was trying to help the giant tuna that exploded out of the water a few seconds after a breach. I think the whale slapped the water, saying “if you want to feed, follow me!” Those slaps must have been audible for miles underwater.

The action has not slowed down at all. There are still sharks all over the bunker schools. Clearly, there are even larger creatures attacking the bunker. It seems to just be getting crazier. However, I get the feeling it won’t last too much longer. We’re seeing more weather and natural occurrences that feels like fall is coming.

Barn swallows are feeding heavily on bugs on these cooler days, something I’m used to seeing closer to Labor Day.

My brother Brendan is a smart dude who has always researched and paid attention to weather patterns. I’m going to give you his prediction, which he sent me this morning:

“Seasons came a little earlier this year, and so the usual coastal storms we get in October and November are going to be here (or ARE here) in August and September. They will produce weird hurricanes. The nearshore ocean is brimming with an insane amount of life, the trees are super lush and wet, just the friggin leaves are holding a ton of water, and there seem to be more leaves than ever. The soil is dank, the air has been cold, so the groundwater is full and deep. The next stage is the warming up of everything; it’ll get hot and wet and truly tropical, then the hurricane juice and food bowls are totally full. We just need a little energy to come over us from any direction.”

Speaking of hokey… That ending sounded ridiculous.

I think he’s saying more life will arrive as the water continues to heat, making it fun for us angler folk. The storms that might occur as a result of the saturation and heat will be radical and volatile, perhaps providing some peril for us coastal dwellers.

I buy it. It feels like a weird year. Let’s see what happens. Maybe the false albacore will show up in a week.

Fish-wise, I’m catching a ton of stripers right up front, all day long. The bites often come in a matter of seconds. Sunset has been providing bigger fish; sunrise seems to have good numbers, with fish that’ll eat anything you throw. Good numbers of shad are chewing all day. The mini hardtails are messing with the bay anchovies right upfront. Bunker is incredibly numerous, and surrounded by predators. My friends have been doing a good bit of team sharking, putting a lot of them on the beach. The team effort is important, as they can work together to dehook the fish and get it on its way very quickly. It is a fool’s errand to take on a shark by yourself.