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).
Jeff at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports: “The inshore fluke bite is picking up, and firetiger is a productive color of Gulp at the moment. In Peconic Bay, bass and blues are chewing around Jessup Neck. Bass can also be found in the ocean on bunker schools, however locating schools can be tough if they’re not showing on the surface. We’ve also seen a good amount of anchovies locally. As for productive lures, plugs with slimmer profiles such as SP Minnows, as well as bucktails, are producing fish.”
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports: “The porgy bite is tricky and hard to find. Really big bass and weakfish have moved in. There is still a solid amount of mackerel around and big sandworm hatches are happening. Guys trolling and chunking are crushing fish. It seems like the change of the tide is the hot bite window. This past moon gave up fish to 40 pounds, so get out there and hit it hard!”
Steve at Wego Bait and Tackle in Southold reports: “Bass fishing is still on fire in The Gut, and the last half of the flood has been killer. Fishing is good in The Race on the outgoing, and parts of Peconic Bay have seen a solid weakfish bite. Diamond jigs and teasers are producing weakfish to 8 pounds. In terms of fluking, the Shelter Island ferry stations are producing big flatties.”
Captain Tommy LaSala (@montauk_fishing_charters) in Montauk reports: “Montauk fishing exploded this week with the new moon bringing in a large body bigger fish. We have been diamond jigging, fishing plugs, and live eeling at night. The fish are gorging on sand eels, bunker, herring, and butterfish. Sean MC landed a beautiful 52-pound monster this week. We’ve been seeing an average of 50 to 100 bass a trip.”
Captain Chris at the Montauk Anglers Club reports: “It was an exciting week of fishing in Montauk. The inshore fishing continues to impress and improve, and the offshore fishing is just starting to heat up. Bluefish now outnumber the striped bass, making it difficult to get to the stripers, especially with on the back of the new moon tides. The hardest stages of the tides with the strongest current are, of course, the most effective windows to catch striped bass and avoid bluefish. The Ebb Tide party boat has been loaded with anglers eager to catch their personal best striped bass, and most are making it happen. The party boat, Miss Montauk, has better and better reports of fluke fishing every day with more keepers being landed. Now is the time to get out there for the fluke-alcoholics. The porgies are still in Cherry Harbor. Soon they will flood the point and stick around till the fall. The inshore bluefin tuna bite has produced a rough average of 30- to 40-inch fish with some fish up to 60 inches being caught on the troll. Chatter side trackers and spreader bars are catching most of those fish, and we have the colors you need in store. Come and get the lowdown on the most up-to-date fishing information you can find and get geared up to crush some fish!”
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This past week was tough, yet rewarding; the large bass are much more tide dependent. For the last two weeks they’ve been blitzing, however, it seems to have slowed down. Fishing is most productive just before and after the tide change. This bite typically lasts anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. That said, once the tide is ripping, the fish seem to be more timid and selective with their feeding habits.
While I haven’t seen much blitzing activity, I’ve been using my fishfinder to locate pods in roughly 15- to 20-foot depths. Casting Doc’s and large pencil poppers has helped to drum up fish from the depths. In terms of conditions, a southwest wind has produced the most action, as it slicks out the Sound making it easier for large fish to locate the plug. This past Sunday, my dad and I hit the water, and he smashed a 24-pound bass on a blind cast just after we marked a nice pod of fish under the boat.
As the week progressed, the fish that were on bunker pods in the channels and bays have slowly began to rock up and take refuge in dense boulder fields, which makes for an excellent surf bite.
Looking toward the near future, I’ll be moving to Nantucket for the month of July, so I’m excited to wack a few bass on the flats!
Eastern Long Island Fishing Forecast
Over the next week, temperatures are going to creep into the high 80’s. Summer is kicking in heavy, which means bass are going to be a bit more tricky to catch. If you’re looking to stay on the bite, you’ll likely have to time your outings around sunrise and sunset. As for bluefish, you should be able to find plenty of action on the open beach. For your safety and the health of the fish, try using a single hook on any plugs! As we approach the latter half of June, you should also prepare your sea bass gear because opening day is June 23…Yep, 10 days away! I’ve always preferred to jig for sea bass; something about the thud of a sea biscuit on a jig just hits different. If you’re looking to cash in on the jig, I’d recommend breaking out a medium-heavy spinning rod and a 5000-size reel spooled with 30-pound braid and a 4-foot, 30-pound fluorocarbon leader. As for jig choice, I prefer a Nomad Gypsy jig, Shimano Coltsniper, Hogy epoxy jig, or Shimano Flat Side jig. Weight choice should be dependent on the ability of the jig to hit bottom, you’ll want steady contact. As for jigging technique, take two cranks off bottom and give it a sharp snap, and as the jig sinks back toward bottom, be sure to follow the slack line down. If you feel a thud, set the hook and hold on! Although traditional baits like clams and squid crush sea bass, the thud from a monster fish on a jig gets the adrenaline pumping. Get out there and get your pig on a jig!
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 striped bass up to 60 pounds in Long Island Sound & the South Shore!
- Shark (including threshers), dolphin, and whale action picks up from the ocean side as water temps rise and more bunker pile in.
- Fluking continues to get better with bait shops weighing sizeable keepers every day.
- Sand eel blitzes on the North Shore continue – awesome topwater action at dawn and dusk!
- Gator-sized bluefish in the Western Sound along with cocktails, but bass continue to dominate the bite.
John from Freeport Bait and Tackle told me:
“The fluke bite in the back bays has been consistent and many of our customers have been finding limits daily! Spearing and squid seem to be outperforming Gulp when looking for keepers.
In the surf, cocktail blues continue to run mixed in with the striped bass—which are BIG! The ocean-side cow bass bite is following the bunker, which are moving east toward Fire Island.
Weakfish are still around in the channels and bays, try using fresh sandworms when targeting. Likewise, porgy have showed up in numbers around Cedar & Lido beaches, but the largest ones can be found on the north shore. We’re having a big sale on rods and reels. Just come in and mention the On The Water fishing report to claim the discount!”
Jamie from Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reports:
“Forty- to fifty-pound bass have moved east but 30-pound fish are right behind them. Mojos and flutter spoons have been effective at all times of the day. The fluke bite is super hot in the bay right now, with keepers over 5 pounds being weighed in daily. Thresher shark fishing is great right now with the abundance of bunker and warming water temperatures. Bay Park has everything you need for both inshore and offshore fishing, and we’re open 7 days a week!”
Brandon Weitz of Causeway Bait & Tackle in Wantagh said:
“Fluking in the bay has been pretty good still and getting better. There’s a good mix of shorts and keepers. Bluefish are still around thick, both in the surf and out in the ocean. Some bluefin have been showing up mid-shore as well! Finding bunker pods has been hit-or-miss; I only saw 1 pod on a recent trip around the west end. There’s big bass around though, and if the bunker don’t continue to fill in, they’ll probably feed on the lighter bait like spearing and sand eels.”
Captain Josh Rogers of Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reported:
“Steady fluking over the past week aboard the Gypsea. The bite definitely required some patience, but those who worked their bucktails were definitely rewarded! We had a few anglers limit out on each trip, with most going home with dinner. Big fish of the week went to boat regular, Vinny, who nailed a 28-inch flattie! Keep an eye out for our ocean trips, which will be starting very soon. The fish have moved into the inshore pieces, and we are ready for them! All reservations can be made by visiting fishgypsea.com ”
Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters in Queens said:
“Our big news this week is that we won the Manhattan Cup with the biggest bass ever caught in its 23-year history—60 pounds, 1 ounce! We’re beyond thrilled, and Rockfish regular Mike Dean was the angler who landed the fish of a lifetime.
Big fish are definitely here. The 60 pounder ate a bunker drifted near a school, which has been our strategy for most of our trips this week. We’re running the beaches jumping from pod to pod to catch most of our really big fish. When the ocean gets too rough or our charters want to catch high-numbers, we’ve been fishing inshore structure that are loaded with fish resting before continuing their migration.
Huge thresher sharks have also moved in close and we always know they’re feeding when our bass bite shuts down. Bluefin tuna are also starting to show up offshore and we’ll probably start doing some recon trips in a week or two before beginning our tuna charters. You can see our schedule & reserve a spot by clicking here.”
Al Rotunno of the Staten Island Fishing Club reports:
“Striped bass are still biting oceanside but are starting to slow down. More bluefish are starting to show on the surf side as well as in Raritan Bay. Anthony Dap caught a personal best striped bass at 48 pounds this week with Guy Buono of Krunch Fishing Charters! As water temperatures continue to warm, bass will start heading east. There have been reports of thresher sharks being caught, as well as makos (which must be released if caught). Ocean fluking is also heating up with bigger fish being caught out front.
Offshore, tuna fishing has improved with some bluefin being caught out east, and finally a few yellowfin caught in the canyons. Get out there and fish! Tight lines.”
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Here’s what local anglers have been posting on social media:
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This past Sunday, I got out with my buddy Josh to fish the inshore boulder fields hoping to run into more of these sand eel blitzes that have been more-or-less a daily occurrence. When we first arrived around 5:30 AM, things looked pretty quiet. The water was calm but moving, and there weren’t any birds in the air. We trolled tubes for a few minutes, before I spotted the first boil of the day. Soon enough, birds flocked to it and we found ourselves in the midst of a full-on sand eel blitz with striped bass boiling in every direction around our kayaks. On the first cast, my pearl-colored Albie Snax got bitten by a cocktail blue. But shortly after I connected with a slot-size striper, and while I unhooked it, I heard Josh’s drag begin to scream. Josh might’ve been screaming too.
When I turned around, I saw Josh’s medium-power fishing rod bent into a U-shape and his kayak making a wake as an overslot striper pulled him towards Connecticut. He fought that fish for a few minutes and I took a nice picture of it before a clean release. It was his new PB – congrats buddy!
Shortly after, I hooked into a nice-sized striper as well. Its belly was fat and it had a big head on it. These fish were ravenous, and even a few schoolies under 20-inches that day were able to pull drag from our reels. After half-a-dozen fish each, the boils subsided and the birds scattered. The wind was forecasted to pick up to 15 knots from the west by 9 AM, so our game-plan was to fish from 5 AM to 8:30 AM. We got back to our trucks satisfied with the outing and looked forward to sharing the pictures with our families & girlfriends.
The day before writing this, I got out for another morning fishing session before work and found bass in that same spot, albeit nothing larger than 30 inches at best. I still have yet to see some gator-sized bluefish on the north shore, it’s mostly been cocktails and fish below 10-pounds. My buddy Frank, however, who fishes the Throgs Neck to Manhasset Bay area, told me he got into some big fish on the bunker pods there.
So while I’m enjoying the fact that the stripers have been dominating the water, its only a matter of time, perhaps days, before the blues crash the party in full-force and warrant a switch to hard baits.
Western Long Island and NYC Fishing Forecast
It’s big-bass season. If you’re looking for that fish over 40-inches, now is the time. North to south, big stripers are being caught on live or chunked bunker, topwater plugs, and even small jigs. Flutter spoons have been deadly-effective as well, and are a must-have for boat anglers fishing the bunker pods.
On the south shore, shark fishing has taken the spotlight and many charter captains are starting to plan their first trips out for tuna. Big-game season should be starting up soon, and sharks and rays will be viable targets from the surf on chunked baits. The big thresher caught from the surf in NJ is a testament to what’s coming.
Bottom-fishing has been productive, and should only be getting better. Porgy, fluke, and weakfish can be found by jigging bucktails, Gulp, or a combination of the two along channel edges and structure. Shore fluking is also very good right now with the abundance of sand eels on the north shore. Walk the beaches with a Berkeley Gulp Jerk Shad or similar profile offering and work it along the beach lip. Likewise, jetties and back bay flats are excellent places to find flat-fish. Sea robins have been around but not too numerous. If you unintentionally catch one on a slow day, considering taking it home for dinner. I promise you’ll be surprised at how white, flakey, and delicious their meat is. A sea robin fillet also fits perfectly into a taco-shell.
Great weather ahead for this weekend, though the wind forecast for Saturday suggests an early start. Sunday looks all-around perfect, with a partly-cloudy forecast, gentle winds, and fair temperatures. It’s been a pleasant spring weather-wise, and water temperatures have been staying stable day-to-day, which I suppose is why I’ve been able to enjoy these morning sand eel blitzes so consistently. It does look like we’re going to get our first-taste of summer next week, though.
With water temperatures in the 60-degree range, bass have been on the feed even through the daylight hours. We’re in an extended prime-time and the fishing has been fantastic overall. I had gripes about the weather through the early spring in April & May, but June has really made up for it. I’d call this my best month of fishing for 2024 so far, but I’m worried about the hotter temperatures next week and how that’s going to affect the current bass bite. While opportunities for fluke, sea bass, and bluefish will improve, these stripers will likely start moving out or finding a rock to stage on for the summer. If you find a good bite, or even blitzing fish, make the most of it while the conditions remain near-perfect!
I hope you have a great weekend and catch your dreams. This is one of the best times of the year to be an angler and the weather has been playing along so far. Get out there!
Thanks for reading, and tight lines.
The Western L.I./NYC Fishing Report is written and compiled by NYSDEC licensed kayak fishing guide, Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater).