Long Island and NYC Fishing Report- January 26, 2023

January 26th. Where did the month go? We’re already on the edge of February, and it feels like New Years Day was yesterday. It’s been a couple weeks without a check-in on the Island!

There’s been some good freshwater fishing from the East end to the West end over the past couple of weeks, and a few anglers quietly prying the back bays and rivers in search of holdover striped bass. White perch are biting well in the same areas, and it’s quite possible—especially if you chum with grass shrimp— to hook a bass or two while white perch fishing. Kayaking in the rivers is a great way to locate schools of perch and can bring fast action.

By the way, it was great meeting so many of you and catching up at the Surfcaster’s Journal Striper Day Show a few weeks back. Thanks to SJ and Ward Melville High School’s Patriots Fishing Club for putting on such a fantastic event. I had a great time, and it got me riled up for the striper season ahead.

But surfcasting will have to wait just a couple more months. In the meantime, there’s still some night fishing you can do on Long Island to keep your skills sharp during the winter months.

Over the past few weeks, some anglers have taken advantage of mild temperatures and quiet, still evenings to chase walleye in the two largest freshwater bodies on Long Island: Lake Ronkonkoma and Fort Pond. While it is a low percentage game most of the time, all it takes is one good walleye, or a surprise bass or crappie to make the night worth it. Just ask Tim Regan (@southforksalt). Tim is the Eastern Long Island Fishing Report author during the high season, a regular OTW Magazine contributor, and he fishes hard 12 months of the year for whatever bites. Recently, Tim’s efforts have been directed toward white perch and walleye, and he’s been handsomely rewarded.

Anyone who has caught walleye, especially on Long Island, knows that a 7-pounder is a trophy fish. The walleye do not reproduce in our lakes, and when they’re stocked each year (or every other?) the NYSDEC typically stocks them in the 12 to 14 inch range. When you find a good one, or a school of stockies with light tackle after many nights of fruitless efforts, it’s a great time.

Use caution when reeling in walleye. While their strikes are pretty unmistakable, they are easy to lose. First, they have sharp fang-like teeth similar to weakfish, so up your leader strength. Secondly, that heavy, wet-rag feeling as you reel them will have some anglers pump the rod to bring the fish closer to the surface. Avoid this, and play them low if possible. I have lost several large walleye to head shakes as they surfaced.

At night, they bite white soft plastic paddletails and curly-tail grubs fished on light jigs or weedless wide gap hooks. They’ll also crush a suspending jerkbait in the dark, which is undoubtedly my favorite way to catch them. They are pretty honed in on white perch fry, which is why they are stocked in these lakes—to control the populations of those prolific spawners. Use silver, white or yellow/gold lures when possible.

As we get closer to spring, you can even catch walleye during the day on silver or gold lipless crankbaits, lightweight blade baits and jerkbaits. However, the night bite is the best way to enjoy fishing for these large members of the perch family, in my opinion.

Other anglers are capitalizing on this bite as well, which I love to see. I spoke with another dedicated salt and freshwater angler Derek Monfort (@derek_sucks_at_fishing), who has been quietly prying the shores of our walleye waters at night as well. A week before the New Year, Derek caught his personal best walleye on one of those outings, and has been chasing that bite since. More recently though, Derek caught another good one from shore. He reported the bite has been tough amid drastic temperature fluctuations and low water levels, and even though it’s a tough fishery to figure out sometimes, it’s a great way to wet a line during the winter months and sure beats sitting on the couch at night!

In Montauk, freshwater fishing has been good during the day as well. Chris Albronda (@montauk_fishing) has been fishing Fort Pond, and this past week he caught the Holy Grail: largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and walleye in one outing. Take advantage of slightly warmer, breezy conditions by fishing deeper pockets as well as transition areas between ledges and flats.

Further west in our local rivers and streams, trout fishing has been improving after a slow start to the winter bite (with the exception of the Connetquot River). OTW Contributor Sean Conway (@long_island_fishing_guy) has spent a fair share of his time targeting trout in the Nissequogue, Carll’s and Carman’s Rivers, as well as some of his local trout ponds. Sean reported a steady pick of brown trout from nearby ponds, and recently even got into a couple brown and brook trout in the aforementioned rivers. He’s had success with brook trout too, which have been much smaller than the browns. Please use caution when handling the brook trout, as they may be native depending on where you’re fishing. That’s our official NY state fish, and we have to preserve their delicate populations on Long Island as they’re the only trout native to the Island. If you need to hold them for hook removal, be gentle and wet your hand to protect their slime coat. Otherwise, use a trout-safe net to help handle them while de-hooking.

But if pond hopping or hiking stream-side to different spots on the rivers is not your cup of tea, there’s still some good fishing to be had in our ponds. For the bait-and-wait crowd, carp have been very active in recent weeks. They’re not exactly a cold water fish, but carp will densely school during the winter and if you set out baits near the pod, it could lead to some lights out fishing during the winter.

Jimmy Fee once affectionately called carp “sewer salmon” after sharing a post of a carp I caught on a mop fly in Yonkers a few years back, and it’s been my favorite way to refer to them ever since.

So, capitalizing on the recent sewer salmon action in the East end ponds are Steven Figari and Matt Magic.

Steven fishes for just about anything that swims, and while stripers are his forte, he used some recent sunny weather as an opportunity to catch some larger specimens than the typical white perch, bass or pickerel this time of year. Of the carp bite, Figari reported:

“Getting carp to feed on artificials is no easy task but the same rules apply as they do to all fishing: match the hatch. My lure of choice is most often a black or dark colored marabou jig in 1/32-ounce, or else it’s a black wooly bugger fly to imitate the small bugs living in the shallow mud that carp spend a lot of time in. With this winter being pretty mild in temperature so far, the carp bite has been good; it’s a great way to get your fix for a spinning spool when the waters are otherwise quiet.”

Matt Magic, a well-known angler among the Montauk fishing community also enjoyed some carp action in recent weeks. Matt fishes the East end’s freshwater ponds persistently, and he is a fantastic resource and fishing guide for anyone who is interested in putting their youngsters onto some fish. He teaches kids how to catch year round, and carp are just one of the many introductory species that help lay the foundation for a life-long angler at a young age.

To the west, Brandon Weitz from Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh reported his first fish of the new year was a carp he caught in a pond close to home. Causeway is located directly next to the southernmost end of Bellmore Creek, a freshwater stream that connects a series of lakes known for good largemouth bass fishing in the colder months when the waters aren’t choked up with water chestnut, which runs rampant in the ponds from early summer to early autumn. Twin Ponds is a highly pressured pair of lakes, but is also home to quality chain pickerel fishing, carp fishing and trout fishing, making it a worthwhile location for freshwater efforts in the winter. Hiking trails surround the perimeter of the lakes, providing more than enough shoreline access and plenty of entry points for wading fishermen. Inline spinners, suspending jerkbaits and slow-moving weedless soft plastics will draw strikes from bass and pickerel even in cold weather.

Point Lookout’s Super Hawk reports that they are sailing on Friday the 27th specifically for cod. The boat leaves at 5 a.m., the occupancy limit is 18 people per trip and costs $110 plus tip, with reservations a must. Then, on Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th, they’ll be fishing the offshore wrecks for cod, porgies and pollock. Both of those trips will leave the night before, so jump at the chance to book before it’s too late. Call the office (516) 607-3004

Paul McCain at River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin reports:

“I have been guiding on the Connetquot River a lot recently and fishing has just been crazy. We’re using ant flies due to the warmer weather and recent rains, which has water levels up and terrestrials washing into the river from the banks which is leading to exciting fishing. There’s also been some good carp and walleye fishing around the island from what I hear, though the walleye fishing is strictly a night bite. However, they tend to come in shallow, so who knows- maybe there’s a possibility of walleye on the fly this year!”

Last we checked in with Lindenhurst Bait and Tackle they reported white perch had moved into nearby rivers in good numbers. They said that chumming grass shrimp was a must if you wanted to get on a good bite, and fishing with baited hi-lo rigs or soft plastic grubs on lightweight jigs were effective methods once the schools were chewing.

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Long Island and NYC!

Long Island and NYC Fishing Forecast

Take advantage of any warm weather windows and hit your nearest freshwater ponds when conditions are cooperative. Most ponds, including the parks in New York City, will hold good carp and largemouth bass fishing during these near 50-degree days. If the bass give you a hard time, there may even be a consolation pickerel prize for your efforts depending on where you’re fishing.

The night bite for walleye, though challenging, should last all winter into the spring. If you’re a surfcaster, think of it as practice for all the late nights you’ll be spending on the beaches and in the back bays this coming year.

Carp fishing is exciting with light tackle, and even more exciting with a fly rod. If you chum with corn or any number of carp baits in a select area for a few days, you may find the fish congregating there which is a great opportunity to cast flies to them as they hold in tight schools.

February is around the corner, and trout fishing should continue to be a reliable option as well in both the ponds and the rivers. Check regulations to make sure you’re only fishing sections of river that are open to fishing, as some stretches of our streams are closed to fishing during certain times of year to protect fragile populations and their environments.

Wherever fishing finds you this week, respect the fish, respect each other, be safe and fish hard. We’ll be checking in with the island again in the weeks to come. In the meantime, go make your own report! Send in any pictures for the fishing report to feedback@onthewater.com, or directly to me: mhaeffner@onthewater.com. You can also tag me on Instagram @hefftyfishing. I hope to see some more bass, pickerel and walleye pics in the weeks to come!