Eastern Long Island Fishing Report
- Awesome surf striper bites along the south shore. Good amount of bass in the mid-20 pound range.
- Weakfish being caught in pound traps.
- Cod and blackfish chewing well offshore. Some surf anglers managing to find tog within reach of the beach.
- Freshwater bite has been on. Big largemouth and crappie are getting aggressive.
The Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Mattituck reports that they are now booking trips for the 2023 season. Call them at 631-928-3926 for booking info, or check the website/Facebook for more info.
The Peconic Star of Greenport reports: “We’ll be setting sail for jumbo porgies, weakfish, bluefish and striped bass come April 28. Trips will run daily at 7:30 AM.” For info, call Captain Paul at (631)522-2002.
Captree Bait and Tackle reports: “Jack brought in a slot striper he caught the other day while we were cleaning up the shop. It’s the first fish we’ve seen at the shop this season! We’ll be holding a big sale in the shop this weekend, open 6am-7pm.”
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:
“Great weather and great fishing are finally here. Spring is in the air, and striped bass have started showing their faces all around the island. Big fish are in the ocean and running the beaches, and a lot of over-slot fish are in the bay chowing down on big schools of bait. They’re smashing up schools of spearing and bunker, so fish accordingly. Matching the hatch is key. Spin guys should be throwing small baitfish imitations like Keitechs and Storm shads. Poppers, walking baits, and wake baits are getting smashed up by eager bass as well. Fly guys are using clousers, zonkers, gurglers, bangers, and big hollow flies, and getting hammered with fish consistently. Spring Tautog fishing is going well for the few that decide to utilize this short season. There’s a consistent bite, and some good sized fish are coming up.
The sweet water is still chilly, especially in the deeper lakes here on the island. The trout stocked in the spring are holding well in the lakes and rivers. Flies and small spinning lures like a Mepps or Kastmaster will bring in the numbers of stockers. Largemouth, smallmouth, pickerel, crappie, and yellow perch are all starting to get into the spirit of spring. Keep in mind the largemouth season is closed currently. Sunfish are already all over the place, snatching baits and lures way too big for them. Crappie action is non-stop, with quality slabs eating swim baits, jerkbaits, and in-line spinners like crazy. Smallies are crushing jigs and swim baits. Fly guys are using small streamers to imitate local baitfish and doing very well. Early morning into the afternoon, then again at sunset into dark have been the most consistent times.”
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The Hampton Lady of Hampton Bays reports:
“We are up and running, ready to rock on opening day this Saturday, April 22 from 6am-2pm. We’re targeting jumbo Peconic porgies and weakfish! The fish should be biting with all this good weather.” Text Capt. James for booking info: (631)521-3366.
The Shinnecock Star in Hampton Bays reports:
“We’ll begin targeting Peconic porgies on May 1st. The boat is looking great, and ready to fish! Text or call Capt. John for info about future reservations, gift certificates and general info: (631) 728-4563.
Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball reports:
“Bill began his week on the north shore. He picked 4 quick bites on a small grove darter. He picked about six more to the upper teens on another darter.
On Friday, he and Jacob hit the Oyster Bay Area, where there was a ton of spearing, and a ton of chunkers. There were a bunch of guys poaching as well. The DEC showed up and busted at least two of them. Despite all the bait, we couldn’t buy a bite, until later on Jacob picked one bass on a grove darter. The next night, Rob joined me in Oyster Bay. Same deal as the night prior, tough fishing. We went to some deeper water, and rob piked a mid-teens fish there. Later on, Rob and I both picked a couple of fish on darters in Manhasset Bay.
On Tuesday night, Rob and I ran to Slip to fish the sunset. Gannets were working outside, ad there was a good chop on the surf. We spot-hopped the soft structure until we found a school of bait. We were immediately into solid fish to about 30 pounds. Bill reckons they were chowing down herring or shad. All the stripers had fat bellies.
Rob posted a report from the north shore last night. He fished from midnight to 1:30, during the super high new moon tide. He picked three shorts when the tide started moving. The first one took a black slug, and the second two fish took a yellow SS darter.” Subscribe today at longislandsurffishing.com.
Montauk’s Viking Fleet reports:
“We’ll be sailing out of Sag Harbor on April 29, specifically to target Peconic porgies. We’ll be lowering our fare too, as it’ll be a shorter trip to the porgy grounds! Find us on the Long Wharf. $110 per trip from 4/29-5/14. On May 15, we’ll start running out of Montauk.” Call the office to book at 631-668-5700, or book online at vikingfleet.com.
Chris Albronda from Montauk reports:
“The striped bass have filled the surf. It’s mostly rats, with the occasional slot fish. There are gannets and dolphins working along the south side, feeding on herring and bunker. In the deeper water, there are codfish to be caught. Catches this week have been as large as 15 pounds.
In freshwater, largemouth bass are in full-blown spawn mode. Slow-moving wake baits used at night could potentially get you your personal best largemouth.” Chris is hosting an open boat trip on May 1 for fluke, so give him a call at (631)830-3881 for info. You’ll likely get into some striped bass as well.
- Looking for the Western L.I. and NYC Fishing Report? Click here to read what’s happening around Nassau, Kings and Queens counties!
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Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain on Long Island!
Eastern Long Island Fishing Forecast
Another incredibly beautiful and productive week has passed. From the photos I’ve seen, the reports I’ve received and the fishing I’ve done, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say a lot of people are experiencing the best “opening week” of their lives.
I’d still say the same thing even if I didn’t have a banner night last night. Even though the rest of my stripers (all 2 of them) this week were difficult to come by, I know there’s plenty of pockets that are very productive. “Some areas seem way more populated with stripers than others. The fish chew during the day here, and at night there, or all day and night in this one rip… They’re feeding on the outside of this specific bar after dark, but only when there’s whitewater… They’re hitting in the bays on the opposite tide of years past…. The bait patterns the fish prefer aren’t typical this year.” These are all real observations from this week. It’s like a box o’ chocolates… ya neva know what ya gonna get.
You never know what the situation is until you figure it out, or until someone figures it out for you…you just gotta go to know. For me, once again, having skilled friends putting in at least as much effort paid off hugely this week. I covered miles of beach the past 4 days, fishing the finest rips in the region. Some days I hooked up, most days I blanked. The water always looked fishy, but the fish were only coming in sporadically. I picked up a couple shorts, and lost a keeper. I would pick on easy largemouth bass just to say I caught at least one fish in the past 4 hours.
Another method of filling those skunky voids is photography. I whipped out my DSLR this week and started taking still photos again. I spent a long time away from this camera, but grew much as a photographer since the last time I used it. I am much more capable of maximizing this tool’s capabilities now… a random tangent, but relevant in that any skill, whether it’s swinging an axe, building a fire, writing or finding fish on the beach, requires consistent, diligent study. Diversifying your capabilities with different tools and methods makes you better.
Anyway, here’s my story this week. It started with a one-eyed osprey who couldn’t compete with the healthy ones for a proper nest. A treetop branch just ten feet from my fishing spot would have to suffice for him.
I had been coming up empty in this bay spot for the past hour and a half while the tide poured out. The cyclops flew ten feet over my head and landed just around the bend. I dropped the rod and picked up the camera, and got some awesome photos and video that probably made me happier than catching a striper would. I ended up using the camera a lot more after that, especially when the fish weren’t biting. With so many shorebirds feeding on the beach, seals sunning their bellies on the dry sand, gannets hitting the water, dolphins passing by, etc., the targets were much more easily acquired with my Nikon than my swim shads.
And sometimes I would hook fish, usually at sunrise or sunset.
Meanwhile, a couple cow hunters I know were homing in on the post-midnight bite. I was confident [and stubborn] enough about my own soft structure’s potential to produce, so I refused to drive the hour-or-so required to cash in on their hard-earned bite.
I just couldn’t take it anymore last night. I scoured my local beaches at sunset, and again from 9-11pm with zero interest from fish. My friend texted during that period, touting his two catches and recommending I join him. After a dozen more slot fish for him and another friend, he demanded I make the trip. I did, and I am happy about that. I’m a DIY guy, and am usually stubborn about that to a fault; I wasn’t about to turn down the potential for a long night filled with larger fish though. The two anglers were throwing the right plugs, picking fish to 25+ pounds. I threw the closest imitation I had (a big soft plastic), and picked fish from about 12-18 pounds. I caught a lot of fish, but my friends were getting all of the big ones. (Lesson learned: don’t bring a knife to a gun fight. I had the same lure as them at home. I mostly brought smaller gear, which probably couldn’t handle launching those big plugs that far.)
At some point, we thought that maybe these fish were targeting sand fleas. They were feeding right on the lip, perhaps staging there. Eventually I was only casting about thirty feet out, and I was getting hit on every retrieve. The light wave action didn’t require any drastic movement, but I essentially implemented my “breakdance” to keep the lure on the beach lip, and mannnn did the bite get hot like that.
I left at 2:30am with at least 15 keeper fish having come to my hand. They were all incredibly riled up. They tried to chew my thumb off, and successfully tore skin from almost all my fingers. The jarring hits hurt my wrist, and my bummed shoulder is weak from all the pulling. Painful, but worth it. Allow me to apologize if my writing sucks today too, as I didn’t get to sleep much.
We have the new moon tonight. Get out there and enjoy it. There were a ton of shooting stars last night, and a half hour passing felt like only 5 minutes. I’ll do it again tonight and happily suffer tomorrow, even if I don’t catch. This is a good time.
This coming week, look for the weakfish and bluefish to begin biting. Kenny from Tight Lines Tackle mentioned reports of weakfish being caught in pound traps this week. I’m used to the first wave of blues being small fish. They’ll still bite the tails off all your swim shads. Twenty-pound stripers will be a very real possibility for the entire next week. The next 4 or 5 nights will experience the backside of the new moon, and tides will be ripping. Temperatures will be mild and consistent, so I’m expecting to experience some consistency in the bite as well. Bay spots, if they haven’t been on fire already, should turn on big time this week. I intend to beat this surf bite to death though.
I haven’t fished the surf in months, and this week I felt so incompetent. I knew I was fishing the correct structure, but I felt lucky that a couple fish actually hit. It took me three hours into last night’s session to finally feel like I knew the surf and these fish again. I probably put in 15 hours of self-doubt before that…and lord knows if I would’ve escaped that self-doubt, if it wasn’t for my friends’ help.
Get out there and have some fun. Good luck.