Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
Eastern Long Island
The Eastern Long Island Fishing Report is compiled and written by writer/blogger and fly-fishing industry professional, Jack Larizadeh (@jack.lariz).
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports:
“The predominant bait is bunker out front, and spearing and sand eels in the harbor. Guys are still trolling, chunking, and dropping flutter spoons for bass. There are plenty of slot-size fish around, and we just saw an influx of 20- to 30-pound fish. Additionally, bluefish have begun to chew bunker chunks at night, so be prepared with some wire or extra rigs. As for fluking, east of Eatons Neck continues to provide steady action and keeper fish; the best presentation seems to be a 4- to 5-inch Gulp swimming mullet on a chicken (hi-lo) rig, or a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce Z-Man jighead paired with a Gulp swimming mullet.”
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:
“Striped bass are running the beaches and inlets hard, and tons of big bluefish are mixed in with them. Massive blues are tailing all over the flats, chasing schools of baitfish. Poppers, tins, and SP Minnows are putting in most of the work. Fly fishermen are crushing the blues too— they’re inhaling Clousers and anything bulky enough to grab their attention. Bass, on the other hand, are hitting SP Minnows, bottle plugs, swim shads, bucktails, and poppers. The beaches are loaded up with some really solid fish. Darters and bottle plugs are getting smashed up too. As for flies, I’ve had the most luck with big flies now that squid and butterfish have moved in. Weakfish are being caught now too, and they are chewing hard on small soft plastics. They love bright colors like pink, white, and chartreuse. There are tons of nice fluke scattered around the bay, but mostly hanging out in the channels. Bucktails tipped with Gulp, Fat Cow strips, or a squid strip have been doing very well with culling out the bigger fish. Lighter setups help feel those sensitive takes.”
Captain Dave Flanagan of North Island Fly out of Smithtown bay reports:
“The new moon last week put the fishing into high gear. A fresh wave of sea-lice covered stripers moved into the western to central Long Island Sound. I had a great week with clients on the fly and on spinning gear. We targeted larger fish feeding on Atlantic mackerel, which is something I have not seen in a while! There are some bunker around, but most of these fish have been on the macks. We’ve had topwater fish in the 30-pound range, as well as some fish to 44 inches on flutter spoons this week and a bunch of fly-caught bass into the 25- to 30-pound class using large 7- to 12-inch flies. I’ve seen more slot and over-slot fish than I have schoolies…something to think about. There are also a lot of sand eels, spearing and even anchovies around. This spring is off to a great start, it should be interesting once the bunker finally show up. Last week we saw our first bluefish at 10 pounds and I’m sure they will be trailing the bunker.”
Carmine at CampSite Sport Shop in Huntington Station reports:
“Porgies are everywhere and fluke fishing just started to get hot in Huntington. Striped bass near Eatons Neck are chowing down on bunker, so break out 5- to 6-inch plugs and go to work!”
Jeff at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports:
“It’s game on. Bass, blues, and porgies are all chewing well in the Peconic. Additionally, ghost tuna continue to roam the ocean out west. As for my personal fishing, I’ve been all over the blues with my fly rod, but this year I’ve tried a new tactic. Rather than use standard hooks I’ve tied all my bluefish poppers on circle hooks. While I lose fish here and there, most fish are hooked directly in the corner of the mouth, which is perfect for a quick release.”
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Chris at the Montauk Anglers Club reports:
“It was a phenomenal week of fishing for striped bass. In the surf, a variety of lures like diamond jigs, Bass Assassins, SP Minnows, and topwater lures landed mostly slot-sized fish under the lighthouse. From the boat, anglers encountered acres of slot-size bass devouring anchovies, spearing, and bunker on the surface. The average catch for two hours of fishing was nearly 20 fish per person! Stop by Montauk Anglers Club Tackle Shop and load up on the tackle you need to succeed, and get updates on where and when the bite is happening.”
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Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain on Long Island!
Sean Conway (@long_island_fishing_guy) in Suffolk County reports:
“The walleye bite has been sick. I managed a few tanks this week and lost one that would’ve been a PB for sure. I’m excited to break out the fly and see if I can get a few to eat some feathers during my next outing.”
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Alfred (@surfcaster11) in Eastern Long Island reports:
“The sound has small bass in the 20-inch range swirling and rolling all over, but they wouldn’t touch anything! They might have been on a worm hatch, but I didn’t see any worms. I did manage to land one in the chaos. In the early morning hours of May 14th, I was able to find some tailing blues. A well-timed cast into the school got me my first bluefish of the season!”
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Chaz (@mtkill_) in Montauk reports:
“I had a couple of good nights fishing a weightless crab fly for stripers. I know blues are here, but I haven’t encountered them quite yet. Usually I have a few before Memorial Day but nothing yet.”
This week I spent the beginning of my time pitching flies into dock lights before embarking on a trip to Vermont. The dock lights held good fish to 8 pounds. While in Vermont, I fly fished for pike for 3 hard days in a row on Lake Champlain. To say the least, my elbow’s feeling it! Luckily, my efforts paid off, and I was able to land a ton of fish with the largest being roughly 36 inches. The key to catching pike was to sight fish gin-clear mud flats in 8-10 feet of water using an intermediate line. I’m back on the island today, May 16th, and I’m excited to hit the usual bluefish spots to see what’s in store.
Eastern Long Island Fishing Forecast
Over the next week, we’ll have daytime temps in the low 70s and nighttime temps in the mid 50s. As expected, everything is in full swing now. If you’re looking to wrestle in some gators, hit the open beaches with some single hook plugs and 60- to 80-pound-test leader. If you’re looking for sharp single hooks, check out the BKK Lone Diablo. It’s worth noting, the influx of bluefish might make it tougher to find or connect with bass. If you’re looking to get away from the gators and cash in on some big stripers, hit the night shift. May is a super productive time to target fresh migratory monsters at night. I’d recommend leaving the SP minnows, Mag Darters, and shads at home. Break out some big metal lips, darters, and gliders, and hit the open beaches. Colors like wonder-bread, chicken scratch, and bright yellow are all killer May color patterns.
As for fluke, the bite is heating up, and the usual combo of a bucktail and Gulp swimming mullet is a deadly option. If you’re not getting much action, don’t be afraid to give the jig long pauses. When it comes to porgies, the fishing is firing on all cylinders. I’d recommend hitting the areas around Peconic Bay for the best results. I’ve always had the most success on clam bellies, just make sure you thread the bellies onto the hook a few times before dropping down. Looking toward summer, the sea bass opener is June 23rd, but there’s plenty to catch until then. Get out there and fish!
The Eastern Long Island Fishing Report is compiled and written by writer/blogger and fly-fishing industry professional, Jack Larizadeh (@jack.lariz).
Western Long Island & NYC
The Western L.I./NYC Fishing Report is written and compiled by NYSDEC licensed kayak fishing guide, Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater).
Water temperatures have yet to crest 60 degrees in the open water areas of the North and South shores. Look to the mud flats in the back bays for water over 60, and potentially active fish.
Brandon Weitz of Causeway Bait & Tackle in Wantagh said:
“This weather’s a bummer but the bluefish and bass bite has been great in the surf. The bridges have been producing nice bass as well on soft plastics & bucktails. Plugs are also a popular lure right now though, and with blues in the mix, throwing plugs is a safer bet than using soft plastics. Clam chumming has been effective at generating a bite when the action is slow. Fluke reports have been very quiet so far, but the action should improve next week. Your best bet for fast action is blues in the surf and the inlet!”
Pete Trovato from Lindenhurst Bait & Tackle shared:
“Bass fishing’s been really good and the beaches have been producing fish. Frank Pace caught a 20 pounder on a snap jig. Monday was my birthday, and I caught a fish over 44 inches from the beach on an SP Minnow. I entered it in On The Water’s Striper Cup, so hopefully I’ll win a prize this week.
Fluking has been heating up, too, with guys catching on bucktails, squid & spearing, and teasers. There’s been a lot of slip gut around though. Hopefully we’ll get a north wind that will clear that out. Next week looks beautiful, so get out and fish!”
Captain Josh Rogers of Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reported:
“We saw good local fishing this past week with quite a few jumbos taken! Big fish of the week went to Kevin from Staten Island, who landed a 10-pound jumbo! The best part about it was he chose to release it to fight another day – way to go Kevin!
The amount of bait in the area only means fishing should continue to improve as the water temperatures rise. Now is definitely your chance to catch a fish of a lifetime. Call/text (516) 659-3814 for info or visit us at www.fishgypseany.com.”
Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters in Queens said:
“Fishing has been pretty incredible this week with many PB’s broken. The big fish we’ve been waiting for have finally showed up in decent numbers and we’re catching a lot of 40- to 50-inch fish on every trip. Eels on the surface are probably out-fishing live bunker 2 to 1, but we always try to have both on hand since every day can be different. There’s still also a lot of slot-sized bass in Jamaica Bay hitting live bunker and flutter spoons, especially in the morning. Book a trip now at rockfishcharters.com.”
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Al Rotunno of the Staten Island Fishing Club reports:
“This past week showed slower striped bass action in Raritan Bay while the oceanside jumbo migratory striped bass action continues to improve. This week I joined Joe Flip on a late afternoon/early evening chunking trip in Raritan Bay. We were luckily able to net enough bunker to chunk a few hours and caught several striped bass up to 30 pounds on the incoming tide. The fish seemed to perk up towards the end of the tide, which is when most of our fish were caught. Drifting eels on structure in the ocean produced jumbo bass for Phil DeLorenzo, myself, and Joe Profeta with over a dozen bass landed up to 45 pounds. Water temperatures are still a little on the cooler side, so as they warm up, we expect the action to pick up.
Fluking has also been hot in shallow water in the back bays. Offshore fishing is also close to kicking off, with not much happening currently and no real promising water features heading our way. We anticipate that will change in the next few weeks. Thresher sharks are also on deck, so get your gear ready! Tight lines all!”
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Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Long Island and NYC!
Here’s what local anglers have been posting on social media:
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If you have a catch you’d like to share, DM me on Instagram @nick_onthewater.
So… how about this weather? When talking to anyone about how the season’s going, a common theme is: “The weather [stinks]” and “Thank goodness for bluefish.”
Yes, the weather’s been pretty cold and wet over the past few days, and for most of the spring. Last year definitely set a high bar with much warmer water at this point, and the early arrival of… everything. Porgy, fluke, weakfish, not to mention striped bass. I recall back in April of 2023 while volunteering at the Fire Island lighthouse, that we’d seen whales breaching on bunker schools barely a mile or so from the shore at Robert Moses beach. This year, there’s been noticeably less bunker.
Bluefish appear to be right on time, perhaps even a little early if you consider when the first social media posts began. That seems to be the only constant, and casting spoons, plugs, and poppers into the surf has a good chance of yielding a nice-size bluefish to wake up your arm muscles and revive a slow day of fishing.
Up here on the North shore, it’s been quiet. Too quiet. There’s bass around, and fluke, but not much else. I’ve put the tarp over the kayak for a bit and committed to the surf on the South Shore. That said, there’s some new bait around. I’m not sure what it is though. It slaps the surface every now and then like a dense bunker school would, but it’s definitely not adult-bunker. To add to the mystery, on one of the few occasions I was in the kayak and trying to jig for fluke, I received some rapid-fire nibbles on my lure with no teeth marks or anything to allude to what it was. These bites occurred just seconds after my lure hit the water, not on the bottom. The more I think about it, the more I think it could have been mackerel… but I don’t know for sure.
Next week’s weather looks prime for kayak fishing though, and my hope is that by then, the porgies will pave the bottom of the bays, weakfish will start to pile up in the channels, and fluke will start biting on the beach lips and channel edges.
Western Long Island and NYC Fishing Forecast
The overall weather this weekend looks great, and the weather leading into next week looks even better. If this week was a bust, next week should definitely make up for it. Average water temperatures have yet to crest 60 degrees on the North and South shores. Look to the mud flats in the back bays for warmer water, and potentially active fish, especially on one of the sunny days coming up. As the week progresses, water temperatures should rise and more bait will pool in. Things should pick up for the better.
In addition to warmer weather, we also have a full moon towards the end of next week, which means stronger tides going into the weekend and more time to fish them for the angler with a 9 to 5. As for incoming vs. outgoing, I have a different opinion every year, but generally, if I’m fishing the ocean surf I like to fish the incoming, while if I’m fishing an inlet I prefer the outgoing. In the back bays, as long as I catch the peak periods where the current is ripping the most, then I consider myself in good shape. But slack tide isn’t a bust. I’ve had some of the best bites of my life on slack low or slack high tides. There’s more factors than just current to take into account.
Years ago, I used to park a canoe on a sandbar in my hometown’s local back bay to fish a hi-lo rig for porgy during slack tide with bait, and then, as the bunker schools and striped bass flooded in with the incoming tide, I’d throw on a paddletail and cast for them in the channel, which would be visibly ripping at that point. With so much current, you only needed to let that jig swing back to you. It was how I caught some of my first stripers, and is still a great way to map out a fishing trip in one of the back bays on the North or South shores.
Storytime over. Back to the now. You have stripers, blues, weakfish, fluke, porgy, even some cod on the wrecks, tilefish charters, and even tuna offshore (or closer than you’d think). The surf holds stripers and, in larger numbers, bluefish. Casting a spoon, plug, or topwater can work well, but sometimes even bluefish get finnicky. If you’re in a spot you know has bluefish but aren’t getting bit, try a soft plastic like the Z-Man HerculeZ in the 1-ounce size. Cast it out and retrieve it slowly, occasionally twitching the rod-tip to make it jump a few inches ahead and provoke a reaction strike. You won’t need to reel fast in the wash–the current and waves will keep that tail kicking and the lure will do most of the work. Just let it swim, reel in the slack slowly, and give it that twitch/jig every few cranks.
Next week’s weather & tide setup gives you ample opportunity to fish some awesome windows, but I really like the way the tides are looking on the north shore; peak incoming is around 5 to 6 a.m., with slack low around 2 to 3 p.m. If you sleep in, you still have plenty of time to fish the outgoing tide, but if you wake up early, you can confidently fish the incoming & outgoing, head in for lunch, hit the best tides in the afternoon, be back for dinner, then head back out at night to catch the outgoing that night.
Wherever you end up fishing, make sure you DM your catches to @nick_onthewater to be featured! And tag @onthewatermagazine for a chance to show up in our IG story.
Thanks for reading, good luck & keep casting!
The Western L.I./NYC Fishing Report is written and compiled by NYSDEC licensed kayak fishing guide, Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater).