Long Island Fishing Report
Western L.I. and NYC
The Western L.I./NYC Fishing Report is written and compiled by NYSDEC licensed kayak fishing guide, Nick Cancelliere (@li_kayak_fishing).
- Striped bass come alive on both shores, from schoolie bass to overslot cows.
- Gator blues still in the mix and aggressively biting plugs and metal jigs.
- Albies show up in the Western Long Island Sound!
- Pelagic bite on the South shore is still going strong.
- Last call for fluke – they’re on the move and still biting.
Jamie from Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside said:
“Erick Calahan on the Roy Ruther reported big bass near the Rockaways being caught on topwater pencil poppers and spook lures. There’s been a lot of action in the back bays on schoolie bass, which can be found blitzing on peanut bunker and other small baitfish that are clumped in the corners around the shallow bays. Some Bay Park regulars have reported catching schoolies in less than a few feet of water! Plenty of fun to be had.
This week, a lot of boats are heading offshore to chase down reports of a hot trolling bite for bluefin tuna. The hard tails are still around and so far the fall bite has been an epic one you don’t want to miss. Stop in Bay Park for all your inshore and offshore needs!”
John from Freeport Bait and Tackle reports:
“Bass have been biting in the marshes of the back bays and around bridge pilings. We’ve seen some bigger bass both off the beach and within the bays this week. Bucktails and plugs have been catching them in the surf while anglers fishing the shallow marshes have been catching on topwater lures. The fall run is in full swing, and fluke season is about to end. If you aren’t fishing, you aren’t catching!”
Petey Trovato from Lindenhurst Bait and Tackle reports:
“Our customer, Alex, bagged a 6-pound fluke the other other day among other keepers, and the fluke bite shows no signs of slowing down. The surf has been full of big bass on all kinds of bait, but mostly peanut bunker and spearing. Mullet might be in the mix as well. Plugs like the SP Minnow and soft plastics like the Tsunami sandeel are good bets right now to match the hatch.”
Paul McCain from River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin said:
“I was out in a South shore back bay on Tuesday, and the water has been very dirty from all the rain. The bait seems to be much more scattered – hopefully its temporary. There were very few birds working spots and it was tough to spot any bluefish on the flats. Fluking was decent though and I was able to catch a few close to keeper size on the fly close to shore. No keepers unfortunately, but its great to see they’re still biting down to the end of the season.
We’ve got some rain ahead but right now the creeks and rivers on Long Island and up in the Catskills are all in great shape and optimal flows, so its a great time to do some sweetwater fly fishing.
Myself and many other fly fishing enthusiasts will be at Montauk this weekend for Castoberfest on Sunday, with a lot of big names in the fly fishing industry doing product demos and raffling off prizes. I hope to see you there!”
Brandon Weitz from Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh told me:
“The bass fishing really turned on this week. While down at the beach Tuesday night everybody was catching on Joe Baggs swarters and other plugs. There’s some big fish around chasing peanut bunker, spearing and sandeels through the whitewash. Soft plastic swim shads, JoeBaggs Swarters, and diamond jigs are the way to go.”
Gypsea Charters in Brooklyn reported a very tough week of fluke fishing after the storm, but they are out there today taking advantage of the smooth sailing conditions. Depending on how it goes, this is possibly their last fluke trip of the year before the season closer this coming Monday, 10/9. On Friday, they start fishing for striped bass and eventually, blackfish. Call or text (516)659-3814 for information and reservations, which are required.
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Here’s what anglers have been posting on social media:
@slotsize with a new PB bass from the surf. Congrats!
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@lifishguy with a back bay blue caught on a metal lip swimmer.
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@bsprex with a surf-caught striper that fell to a bucktail jig and trailer.
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Crisp mornings and warm afternoons. Enjoy this weather while it lasts, because we never get enough of it. Next week things cool down and fall really settles in. The weekend looks rainy, and the wind, which has laid down significantly, will return but in advantageous directions which should bring bait into the surf and hopefully extend the run of false albacore we’re seeing in the Western Long Island Sound.
The fall run is now firing on all cylinders. The sustained northeast blow seems to have pushed false albacore further west in the Sound, as anglers have been catching them as far west as Port Washington now. This is the earliest I’ve seen albies in the western sound and it’s pretty awesome. While dragging my kayak back to my car after a trip, a beachgoer asked me what those jumping fish were – the albies had been just a few feet off the beach and drew a crowd of spectators.
While fishing a local honey hole of mine Monday afternoon, I noticed a big blitz take place for a few seconds a few yards away. I assumed cocktail blues and shrugged it off, but when another one happened just a few hundred feet from my kayak, I realized pretty quickly it was false albacore. They were jumping clear out of the water, with their forktails and color patterns visible to the naked eye. I frantically started paddling towards it and tied on an epoxy jig as quickly as I could.
This was difficult, heart-breaking albie fishing – there were no birds, and no clear bait schools to tell you where to be. They’d pop up in one spot for, and only a few seconds later end up a dozen yards away. It was like whack-a-mole but fishing. Fortunately, the water was completely flat. I just had to sit and listen, and hope the albies stuck around wherever they were.
From a kayak, this can get exhausting pretty quickly. Blind casting seemed my best bet, and staying put and waiting for the fish to come back to me rather than chasing blitzes kept me from tiring myself out. With no birds to follow, I had to constantly scan the horizon and focus my hearing for the slaps and splashes associated with their blitzes. The albies were finicky, and though I managed to get one albie’s attention enough to make a swipe, it didn’t get hooked. It’s likely they were ram feeding. There’s a very good short video on On The Water’s YouTube channel that explains ram feeding and how to fish it. You can find it by clicking here.
I didn’t manage to hook an albie that day, but I did hook my first couple of fall stripers of the year, which more than made up for it.
When the albies stopped showing, I fell back on the tube and worm hoping to land my first fall bass, or another big bluefish. After a few minutes of trolling through boulder piles and a few nibbles, my lure got whacked aggressively and the fight was on. “Another bluefish” I told myself as the drag started to sing. “Not that big” I said as the drag peel abruptly ended after only a few seconds. Shortly after the initial bite and run, I could tell something was different about this fight, and I started to get more optimistic. As I winched up the fish, I saw those beautiful stripes we all know and love. “YES!” I exclaimed. I broke the ice and landed my first striper of the fall.
From there, I opted to change lures and start casting and retrieving some paddle tails through the rock piles. I went with my standard retrieve – let it sink a few seconds, then a slow retrieve, then erratically speed up my retrieve for a few turns before returning to a slow reel. I managed to get whacked again by a bass but didn’t hook it. A half-dozen repetitions later I hooked another bass, this time schoolie size. From there I opted to use a light topwater lure and see if they’d be willing to play. Not so much. But I did manage to get a few topwater hits from two schoolies at the same time, but not enough to hook ‘em. That was fine, though, because just enticing a topwater hit is almost as fun as fighting the fish. Knowing that those fish are around and willing to bite is satisfying enough.
Back in spring, there were days you could walk around any given beach in the morning and see striper tails slapping the water just a few hundred feet from shore, with flat, glassy water lapping against the coastline and a pink sky reflecting off it as the sun rose. Cast a popper or walk-the-dog style lure out and get bit right away. Striper fishing was as easy as it gets back then, when the Northern migration was in full swing and the fish were active. I hope to see the return of that now that we’re in the early Fall run.
Western L.I. and NYC Fishing Forecast
I can’t emphasize enough how much you need to enjoy this weather. Things will be cooling off next week and if you don’t get out and fish while you can, before you know it you’ll be hanging up the rods and reels or winterizing the boat because all of your best fishing windows were canceled by wind and rain. This mostly applies to boat and kayak anglers, of course. Surfcasters need not apply. ‘The worse the weather the better the fishing’ right?
If you’re looking for albies on the North shore, the time I’m seeing them most consistently seems to be at peak high tide, when the bait schools are closer to shore. 3 days of fishing for them has me thinking they’re sticking around boulder piles where the bait have some place to hide, so you won’t have to go far to find them. The bonus of fishing these boulder piles is if the albies don’t show, you can jig for sea bass, porgy, and stripers while you wait for a blitz to erupt.
When I think back about a month ago, these boulder fields were flooded with rain bait but nothing was blitzing on them besides birds. Now, ironically, it only seems to be albies and nothing else blitzing on them – not even birds, which would be a welcome visual aide to finding the fish. Fortunately, with flat water its not so difficult to listen and observe blitzes disturbing the glassy calm water. Target other species in between blitzes to keep yourself sane and remember that albie fishing is a very low-margin game. Your opportunities will go by quick and they will be few. Try to enjoy the spectacle as much as the chase.
Striper fishing has really kicked up on the North shore as well, and you don’t have to go far to find them. Boulder fields, jetties, ledges, and bridges have been holding striped bass that are more willing to feed than in the past few weeks. As always, look for the bait that is around and try to match the hatch. That may mean a paddle-tail shad for peanut bunker, or an epoxy-jig for bay anchovies, or the venerable diamond jig for sandeels.
Fluking hasn’t slowed down too much even as we approach the end of the season. Fluke have been biting on bucktails, teasers, and soft plastics in the shallows. My buddy Josh in Long Beach landed a keeper and a few shorts on a recent trip out of Reynolds Channel through the various bridges around the South shore bays. I was mocking his rig – a bucktail on a 3-way swivel clip with a teaser tied at the end of a long leader. But ultimately he was high-hook that trip and caught the most fish out of any of us that day.
Fluking aside, the bass bite off the beaches has been awesome. Surfcasters are regularly catching big cow striped bass in the white wash with sandeel and peanut bunker imitations. There’s a south wind in the books for next week that may really turn on the fishing as bait gets pushed into the ocean surf for migrating bass and pelagics to gorge on.
To sum it all up in simple terms: the weather is great, fishing is great, and it’s only getting better from today. Get out there and enjoy it! Thanks for reading, and as always, tight lines.
The Western L.I./NYC Fishing Report is written and compiled by NYSDEC licensed fishing guide, Nick Cancelliere (@li_kayak_fishing).
Eastern Long Island Fishing Report
The Eastern L.I. Fishing Report is written and compiled by NYS surf/fly fishing guide and drone pilot, Tim Regan (@southforksalt).
- Big bass on the move along the south shore. Big bluefish on the North Fork and near Gardiner’s Island.
- Strong albie bite on both forks.
- Bottom fishing remains consistent. Lots of octopus coming over the rail as well.
- Last licks for fluke. Season ends Monday. They’re still biting, with some big ones to boot.
The Captree Pride reports:
“Yesterday we got into an excellent fluke bite on our 7am trip. Many limits were caught, and our 15 anglers landed well over 100 fluke. We saw similar action early in the week. Tomorrow is probably the last nice day to get out and fluke fish before the season ends. Our pelagic special has been a lot of fun, with a fun assortment of species coming over the rail. Two days ago, we had nonstop action with bonito, albies, bluefish, jumbo porgies, mackerel, sea bass and one triggerfish. One boat got into some big bluefin tuna on a pelagic trip.”
Capt. Dave Flanagan of North Island Fly in Northport reports:
“We’ve been getting after it this week! There are albies galore, and some other great options if you’re interested. Mitch joined me on his birthday 2 days ago, and we pulled on some albies with the fly rod. Tim is officially hooked after landing his first albie on spin gear the day prior. Jonny joined me for a quick afternoon session, and the fish did not disappoint; we put some chunky albies on the boat. Adam and Erik came fishing with me the day before that, and the albies kept us entertained for a while; after that, we beat up on some blitzing bluefish to finish out the day. Yesterday, the boys from Supreme Shine got to experience albie mania before tying into some backwater bass. The fall run is raging around here!” Check out Dave’s website to book him for a charter at northislandfly.com.
Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters reports:
“Bluefish to 14 pounds are hammering diamond jigs, and the occasional slot striper is willing to take them too. There is a lot of peanut bunker in the LI Sound and the bays. With this 80 degree weather the past three days (in October no less), it has pushed waters temps to 66+ degrees in the Sound! We need some N-NW winds to bring in cooler temps and bring the water temp down; once that happens, it should be striper central. There are lots of keeper sea bass around, plus plenty of 2+ pound porgies. They kept our rods bent the last couple trips, keeping our customers happy. We’re gearing up for blackfish season now, so call/text Stu at 631-707-3266 or check out the website to book a trip: northportcharters.com.”
The Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson reports:
“After being tied down to the dock for a week, we were excited to get fishing again! The bottom fishing was excellent this week. Ward Melville’s fishing club joined us yesterday, and the kids put on a clinic! We found a lot of big scup, plus a striper, in Port Jefferson waters. The day before, we pulled up a lot of scup and had some real nice sea bass action. We ended up filling a full boat limit right at the end of the day. We saw some stripers and a lot of bluefish, big and small, earlier in the week.” Call them at 631-928-3926 for booking info, or check the website/Facebook for more info.
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The Peconic Star 3 of Greenport reports:
“Yesterday’s trip was focused on trying some new areas. We found some sea bass and nice porgies hanging on a wreck. The porgies were endless, but somewhat finicky. There have been a lot of small sea bass since the storm. Block Island Sound was loaded with them. Three days ago, the bite was awesome. The tides and conditions calmed down a little, and we found all sorts of fish: scup, bluefish, albies, stripers, sea bass and blackfish. We’re expecting blackfish will be excellent on opening day. The moon tides for the prior three days were pretty much hit or miss, but we were seeing a good mix of those aforementioned fish.”
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:
“The last few days of fluke season have seen some phenomenal action. Lots of big flatties are chilling in the inlet on their way out, and we have one weekend left to target them. Bucktails tipped with artificial baits, and jerk shads are getting demolished by quality fluke. Sea Bass action is going strong on the outside wrecks. Drop epoxy jigs, slow pitch, diamond jigs, and bucktails down to ’em for some fun fights. Shop rigs with clam always do the trick too. Stripers are getting pulled very early in the mornings, and at night. The night bite is loaded with eel eaters, and during the day they’re chasing down lures. Poppers, swim shads, and bucktails are getting hammered consistently. A good push into the bay is very likely. Tautog season is rapidly approaching and the shop is loaded with jigs, rigs, hooks, and crabs. Plenty of great rods and reels to help you pull monster blackfish up out of their hiding place are in stock.
Bass and pickerel are out lurking, and crushing swimbaits, senkos, jigs, spoons, and crankbaits. Top water lures like poppers and wake baits will still get eaten during this time of year.. Trout are up and active with the sun rise and they are staying up later in the day. Dry flies are very effective for rising fish all fall long. Nymph droppers underneath your dries are a great way to pick up any fish deeper down. Some hungry trout will ambush a good streamer presentation as well. Sunfish and yellow perch are out doing their little fish thing, and they’re a blast to catch on ultralight tackle for people of every age and skill level. They’ll eat worms all day long, or chase down an inline spinner or small jig.”
Nick from Haskell’s Bait and Tackle in East Quogue reports:
“With the better weather this past week, it seems the fall run is running full steam. Big bass came blasting through the inlets during the nor’easter, and now we have all the bait and fish in play for a great October. The open beach is producing some keepers in the mornings and evenings. Fluke is in its final stage before the season closes, and most of the fish are staged up in the inlets and ocean for a final feed locally. Live baits like peanuts and mullet have been working the best. Weakfish are also funneling through the inlets, getting ready to migrate southward. Big porgies are being caught off the rocks and piers, mostly on squid and clams. Snappers are starting to dissipate, but with the warm weather, they’re still being caught on the piers and back creeks.”
Chris Albronda from Montauk reports:
“I fished on the Thermocline on Sunday with Capt. Will Cornacchia, and we found fish right after leaving the harbor. Shagwong point was littered with fish from top to bottom: albies, stripers and bluefish galore. We ran down the north side towards the point and found a school of slot stripers feeding on big bay anchovies. On Thursday we headed offshore to the tuna grounds and went 12/12 on bluefin tuna from 30-100 pounds. I caught and released a 50+ inch fish on a light rod.” Shoot Chris a text at 631-830-3881 to book a trip.
Eastern L.I. Fishing Forecast
As a diehard surfcaster, I’ve always been averse to boat fishing. It’s just how I was introduced to fishing. To anybody but diehard surfcasters, I’d imagine this closed-mindedness must seem kind of stupid. It certainly is. Regardless, it’s how a lot of surfcasters feel, and they’ll proudly proclaim this aversion to “easy fishing.” I’ve been one of those guys for the past decade.
I hadn’t fished for over a week until just a couple days ago. My personal life took over for a while there, putting me on the longest no-fishing streak I’ve undergone since I began fishing. I missed out on some outstanding fishing. I’ve heard from more than a few anglers that the bite during the storm was insane: bass to over 40 pounds in the inlets and on the beaches, and albies galore in their usual haunts. Coming back into the game, I knew that the action wouldn’t last forever, so I made plans with my friend Steve to get out on his friend’s boat to do some albie fishing and/or blitz hunting… “easy fishing.”
We took the boat from Sag Harbor and ran up to the north side of Plum Island. I didn’t realize just how close Plum is to Orient. That current ripping through there is wild. As we made our way north, we passed by Cedar Point, with Gardiner’s off in the distance. Gardiner’s was one of our potential targets that day, but the most recent reports suggested we run to the North Fork. I was surprised to learn that it would be a much quicker trip to run to the North Fork than it would be to run to Montauk. I heard the albies were biting pretty well on the eastern South Fork, but with little time to spare, we took the shorter trip to the Sound.
Normally it would take me about 40 minutes to drive to the north side of Montauk. The drive to the NoFo, however, would take much longer than that. It’s a pleasant trip when you take the ferry, but expensive; going around (through Riverhead) would take a good bit longer and I’d have to deal with traffic. For my location, Montauk is the no brainer from a surfcasting perspective. For the boat angler, the world is your oyster.
I got such a different taste of Long Island yesterday. With a nearly-glassy surface and light winds at our back, we practically flew to the North Fork. Our run to the east point of Plum was fruitless during the upper outgoing tide, so we ran back west towards Trumans. I told Steve I’ve never caught a sea bass or porgy from a boat, and so we quickly remedied that. I tied on a heavy deadly dick and dropped it down. Immediately I caught a tiny sea bass. The next few that came up were quite nice though, at nearly 16 inches. They were way bigger than any sea bass I’ve ever caught from shore. I’ve caught some huge scup from the rocks, but just a couple at a very specific time of year. On the boat, we had as many as we wanted, to nearly the same size. It was good fun bottom fishing, and a completely new experience for me. As we trudged towards Trumans, we saw a couple schools of albies blitzing, but couldn’t get there in time to catch any. Life-wise, it felt quite barren up there (minus all the bottom fish we came across). There were no birds working whatsoever, and the blitzes were hardly existent. Perhaps we just chose the wrong tide.
Regardless, the experience was incredible, and I have to say I really enjoyed boat fishing. The run back to Sag Harbor occurred during sunset, and I loved the feeling of the wind running through my hair. The access to fish isn’t even close to comparable to a surfcaster’s access. You can run 50 yards and find a completely different species. I felt like the odds of a skunk were practically zero, and even catching the smaller scup and sea bass on light tackle was a blast. If you need meat, it’s a quick run to the “deli,” where you can drop a lure down for an hour and go home with a bunch of different types of fish to eat.
I am officially a fan of boat fishing. Boating in general grew on me a lot yesterday. It’s extremely rare that I see the Forks from that perspective, but I felt like I was in a different region. Long Island practically looks mountainous when you’re on the water. The changes in elevation were much more apparent, and the western horizon was lined with tree-topped hills and sandy bluffs. Even the northern side of the south fork appeared to be way more hilly than it feels.
When we returned to port, there was lots of bait in the water. I heard the fish have been biting pretty well in the back bays recently. It sounds like there’s still a lot of bass et al. hanging in the Peconics.
To me, the beach has looked quite barren. The water has been pretty darn dirty all week. There are certain spots where the waves are clear, especially at certain moments. Then the swell will pick up, and the waves will crash on the outer bar, and the water becomes murky again. I’ve wet a line a few times in the surf the past couple days, with nothing to show for my efforts. I’ve heard reports from the open beach, but most of the fish are coming to hand at night and in the early morning. I’ll be looking to target those windows this week.
The bunker have pushed pretty far off the beach. I’m sure we’ll see more bait near the surf in the coming weeks, and I’m very excited for that. There’s not much that’s more exciting than rolling on to the beach and seeing birds and fish working underneath the waves, as adult bunker pour over the falls trying to escape predators’ mouths.
The westward whale migration is underway, and that’s keeping stuff interesting for me during the daytime on the beaches. I feel like I must’ve seen 15 different whales this week, and they are often in pairs. Seeing two whales lunge feed simultaneously is a sight you won’t soon forget, so I’d suggest getting down to the ocean to have a look. The whales are a bit farther out than they are in the summertime, so scan the horizon for spouts. Once you spot some, keep your eyes peeled, because they’ll probably find some food to lunge feed upon, or put on a show for you, complete with tail-slapping, surface slapping with their pectoral fins, and even jumping clear out of the water. If the wind is onshore, you can hear the explosive noises they’re creating from hundreds of yards away. It is humbling.
We’re going into the last few days of fluke season, and we’ll have some crummy weather leading right up to it. There’s a big swell inbound, and it’ll build quickly starting on Friday afternoon. Make sure you get out while you can! Maybe that swell will get the stripers on the feed again. I’ve heard of blitzes in the back, and a slowdown in action up front. This storm could potentially put more fish on the move, and get them feeding real well. I’m going to count on that and fish accordingly. We’ll have a lot of winds from the west after that, pretty much for the entire week ahead post-storm, so it could get murky again. The beginning of the new moon phase begins next week, so take care of whatever work you have get done ahead of time. I think mid-October could be excellent. By then you’ll be able to keep blackfish in the Sound (10/11), and shortly after, the other waters will be up for grabs (10/15). Fluke closes on the 9th (Monday), so best of luck to all you who are looking for some last licks! The water’s still warm, so take advantage of it. We read 65 degrees in the Sound yesterday. Nuts!
The Eastern L.I. Fishing Report is written and compiled by NYS surf/fly fishing guide and drone pilot, Tim Regan (@southforksalt).