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:
“Boats are getting bass to 25 pounds from Eatons Neck to the Diamond Point area on mojos and flutter spoons. The bite has started early and the fish are happy. Inside the bays the surf guys continue to crush schoolie bass. If you’re fishing in the bay the bait is no longer bunker, it’s a spearing bite. With an influx of spearing, fluke fishing should be hot. As for bottom fishing, porgies are slowly trickling into the area however were still waiting on weakfish.”
Jeff at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports:
“There are bass to 38 inches on spooks, bucktails and swimbaits. The blues are beginning to crash the party, they are skinny and looking to beef up. As for weakfish, the bite is spotty; it should begin soon, however, it isn’t quite like last year’s run. Also, we’re seeing bunker slowly move in, so prepare your poppers with single hooks for some epic bluefish action.”
Arek Zenel-Walasek (IG @thebrooklynfisherman) in Peconic reports: “Schoolies and fish in the high teens are moving in on bunker in the main parts of Peconic Bay but in the creeks they’re on the usual shrimp and silversides meal plan. The day bite has been decent but night time into dawn has been most productive.”
Sean Conway (IG @long_island_fishing_guy) on the North Shore: reports “ April 29th was great. Warm weather woke the fish up. Bass were crushing minnow plugs on the surface however, the bite fizzled out the following day.”
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Chaz (IG @mtkill_) in Montauk reports: “The fish have been on the sand beaches, however they just started chewing in the back bays. Fly fishing with small clousers and deceivers seems to do the trick. I haven’t seen any blues myself, but there’s word they are here. I also saw plenty of birds working off Ditch Plains. Outgoing tide has been the most productive.”
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Chris at the Montauk Anglers Club reports: “It was an amazing week of fishing for Montauk. Both from boat and from shore, anglers had great success. The blackfish grounds were filled with quality size fish, there was also a very good amount of decent size cod caught, and a mix of large ling. Some anglers stayed local and some traveled far. Both were successful. In the surf, the striped bass made an incredible showing with fish from rats to over-slot sized fish. They were eating a variety of lures from Darters, SP minnows, Diamond jigs, Bass Assassins, and Hopkins. The best of it started on Thursday. From the north side of the lighthouse to ditch plains fish could be found. There was also a showing of shad and herring, and no sign of squid yet. Come, check out the tackle store and get everything you need to gear up and hot tips for fishing in Montauk both fresh and saltwater”
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As for my fishing, this past week I hopped on the boat and hit the water hard in the Western Sound. At the beginning of the week, bunker and spearing slowly moved into the back bays. I was able to dredge up a few schoolies and slots on the fly. The most conducive technique continues to be dredging full-sink line along the bottom in 15 to 25 feet. As for flies, I’ve been chucking olive and white 5- to 6-inch decievers. Slow two hand strips and long pauses had the fish fired up.
Once the weekend hit a light south wind smoothed out the sound and allowed me to venture out of the bay in search of larger fish. My buddy Andrew and I focused on rock structure in the 15- to 25-foot range. The outgoing tide at sunset gave up some healthy fish to 18 pounds. The fish in the picture below slammed my deciever as I worked the fly up a steep dropoff.
After an epic battle the fish was released with plenty of energy. Moments later Andrew got smashed on his homemade olive bucktail.
Fishing is heating up, big fish are moving in, this upcoming week i’ll be out searching for my first bluefish of the season.
Eastern Long Island Fishing Forecast
Water temps are quickly heating up, so fishing should be red hot. For the remainder of the week, daytime temps will remain in the mid to low 70s, and next week temps will be in the upper 60’s. Expect to find blues on the open beach, be sure to rig up some single hooks and carry a hefty pair of pliers. I’d have some Cotton Cordell pencils, Super Strike poppers, and diamond jigs at the ready. May 7th marks the new moon and that means big fish are coming! The 3 days before and 3 days after the moon should have fish fired up. I’d continue focusing on the open beaches and back bays. With bait like bunker and spearing around I’d recommend carrying a bag full of metal lips, SP minnows, Mag Darters, and weightless soft plastics. In other news, fluke season opens on May 4th! Break out the Gulp and fish your jig slowly along the bottom. Opening day can be fairly slow, but don’t be discouraged, the fluke should chow as the weather warms.
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).
- Big bluefish cruise the bays, inlets, and surf along the South shore.
- Weakfish in the mix along the back bay channels.
- Schoolie-to-slot sized stripers biting near the bridges and off the South shore beaches.
- HUGE, breeder Striped bass are being caught up the Hudson, and should make their way down as the spawn concludes soon.
- Scup up! Reports of porgy catches in the Long Island Sound. Porgy season is open as of May 1st!
- Fluke opens this Sunday, May 5th! Check the DEC for updated regulations.
The Striper Cup has kicked off, and this week Penn Spinfisher & Battle III combos are up for grabs! Join the fun today at StriperCup.com. Win prizes just for sharing fish pictures!
John from Freeport Bait & Tackle reports:
“Gator blues have moved in. Bluefish measuring 30 inches and over have been tearing up fresh bunker, swimming plugs, diamond jigs, and anything else that moves. Striped bass action has been improving with reports of slot fish at Jones Beach and Robert Moses. Fluke have already made an appearance in the back bays. The official fluke season opens this Saturday. Visit the shop for a large selection of bucktails, Gulp, spearing, squid and all your fluke necessities! We have also been getting fresh bunker daily for striped bass and bluefish.”
Captain Josh Rogers of Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reported:
“Very good bass fishing this past week, with live bunker being key. It’s been tough to get the bait, but once you do, its game on! Slots and over-slots released with most trips seeing good action. We will be switching over to fluke fishing every day starting this coming Saturday. Call/text (516) 659-3814 for info & reservations.”
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Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters in Queens said:
“Fishing has become very consistent this week. The bunker in Jamaica & Raritan Bays are starting to school tighter together, enabling us to fill the wells in a throw or two and get fishing much quicker. We’re still having to bounce around a bit more than last year at this time but are averaging a few dozen, mostly slot-sized bass on every charter. Bigger fish should come in with this next moon and we’re excited to catch more fish on topwater and plugs. We’re running open boats every Wednesday morning and are available for charter twice a day, book online at rockfishcharters.com.”
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Brandon Weitz from Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh told me:
“Bass and bluefish have been all over the South Shore bays, near the bridges, and on the flats. Soft plastics have been working well. Chumming the water with clam has helped produce some fish when they aren’t biting well.
The inlets and beaches have had a good number of bass and bluefish as well. Diamond jigs or swarters/plugs are a safe bet and likely to get slammed by big bluefish. There have also been some nice-sized weakfish around! Stock up on pink lures whether that’s jerk shads, plugs, or Gulp shrimps.”
Petey Trovato from Lindenhurst Bait & Tackle reports:
“The fishing has been red-hot! I’ve seen a 24-inch fluke come out of the surf on bucktails, which is a very positive sign for the upcoming season.
There’s been a good mix of bass and blues across the south shore from the beaches to the bays, and we’ve been catching them on bone-colored minnow plugs as usual. Alex Worgul had a keeper bass on an SP minnow the other day. Bucktails are always a good bet for catching both bass and fluke in the surf as well.
My cousin Joe Bescardi has been hitting the cod grounds still. He had 3 keeper cod, a bunch of ling, and his friend Chris caught a 7-pound blackfish. All caught on clams, which we have fresh in the shop!
In the freshwater there’s plenty of sunfish and bass around which you can catch on spoons, senkos or nightcrawlers. Belmont lake has been producing some really nice largemouth bass on plastic worms or nightcrawlers suspended under a bobber, which will also catch crappie and perch.”
Al Rotunno of the Staten Island Fishing Club reports:
“With water temperatures warming up daily, striped bass fishing in Raritan Bay is starting to heat up. Guys live-lining bunker seemed to fate much better than others while trolling mojos and Maja bunker spoons also have worked.
The problem with live-lining is being able to find and net bunker. It’s been the worst I can remember. If you do manage to get live bunker, you will do very well on bass ranging from keepers to overs, with more overs than keepers. This morning, Phil DeLorenzo and I tried fishing structure out front with no success. Water temperatures are a bit too low and we expect that bite to improve any day now.
The big story the past few weeks is the giant bluefin tuna bite going off the NJ coast. Many giants were landed this past week up to almost 800 lbs! Trolling ballyhoo seems to do the trick. As of 11:30 p.m. on 5/2, NOAA will close giant bluefin tuna until December 31st.”
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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.
We had some incredible summer-like weather Sunday & Monday, followed by much cooler temperatures, which has been a recurring theme of spring 2024. I got out in my kayak on both days, and it felt weird to be in a t-shirt and shorts with very little fish activity despite water temperatures supposedly up to 65 degrees, if my fish-finder was accurate.
While there’s been no shortage of striped bass on the north shore, there seems to be less bait for this time of year. You can find a bass and get bit, but you’ll have to work for it. Swim shads, minnow plugs and bucktails have all been working, and some of the best bites I’ve found have been during the peak of the incoming tide in the back bays.
Last Saturday, I got out with OTW’s Matt Haeffner and Nick from @surfcasting_the_island for a quick morning session. We arrived at Jones Beach and saw birds working and some seriously large topwater blowups but with no clear indication of what the bait was or what was feeding on it.The boils were few and far between, but they were big. Enough to get me thinking it was porpoises or sharks, and not necessarily blues or bass. When a seal showed up infront of us, we decided to jump over to another spot by Robert Moses. There, we fished spoons, plugs, and bucktails in gin clear water. We had several bass visibly follow our lures in to the beach lip but refuse to bite. Unfortunately, shortly after, we both had to take off.
For me, April was marked by a series of terrible calls on where to fish, when I knew that other spots were sure to have fish. Rather than chase reports, I’d chased my hopes of finding larger, freshly arriving bass. Unfortunately, it hasn’t paid off yet.
This early in the season, there aren’t many ‘Plan B’ fish to fall back on when the stripers are elusive. Especially on the north shore right now. But with the arrival of blues on the south shore, the beginning of porgy season, and the soon-to-be-open fluke season, that’s going to change fast.
Western Long Island and NYC Fishing Forecast
If you’re fishing the north shore, the action seems to be better the further west you are. The back-bay mix of holdover & migratory fish could decide to go full-feeding-frenzy any day now though, provided more bait rolls in. There have been some absolute monster stripers being caught in the Hudson right now, and we just have to wait our turn for them to roll out and spread across the Sound & into the back bays.
If you’re on the south shore, you’re in pretty good shape. Weakfish have been a common bycatch lately, among the mix of slot-size striped bass and gator bluefish that have been in the surf and in the back bays. Bunker, while somewhat hard to come-by, can be found in small pockets and live-lining is a sure bet for catching a big striper or bluefish. Topwater has been effective, with reports of bass feeding on-top during the day. You can coax some exciting action from the bass and blues on pencil poppers or walk-the-dog style spook-lures. The current class of striped bass is generally in the 20-to-30-inch range, with the biggest catches being close to 40 inches according to the charter captains I’ve talked to, who have been mostly live-lining bunker.
It’s only getting better from here. We have gorgeous weather for the opening day of fluke season, and I hope you catch yourself a doormat. Thanks for reading as always, and tight lines!
The Western L.I./NYC Fishing Report is written and compiled by NYSDEC licensed kayak fishing guide, Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater).