Long Island and NYC Fishing Report- August 8, 2024

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle in Oakdale reports: “Rough weather this week makes for some rough fishing, but those that got out were rewarded. Luckily we have a solid looking weekend ahead of us. Fluke action remains some of the best we’ve seen in a while. The number of fish over 5 pounds being caught is wild! Our shop rigs are getting crushed by quality fish. Add some bait or your favorite soft plastics and you’re in. Even the beaches are loaded with quality fluke. Sea bass reports were the same from everyone—bigger fish are further out. With so many party boats in our waters, the local reefs and wrecks get picked clean quickly. Venture further out and try jigging instead of bait, some larger fish are getting pulled up. Bright-colored bucktails and slow-pitch jigs have been putting up numbers. At the local docks, snappers, kingfish, blowfish, and plenty of blue claw crabs are running around. So much fun for kids, and adults that like to be kids.”

Captain Brian from the Island Princess in Captree reports: “Our fluke trips are seeing plenty of action. The spearing and squid combination is killer. With the crazy weather, we haven’t been able to leave the bay, so fishing for sea bass hasn’t happened in quite some time. Aside from bottom fishing, we’re seeing plenty of bluefish on the flood tide; they’re just about everywhere. We’re sailing from 7AM to 11AM and 12PM to 4PM daily.”

Paul from the Peconic Star in Greenport reports: “It’s been a complex last couple weeks of fishing; there are plenty of porgy out there with larger ones even coming over the rail at a whopping 2.5 pounds. Additionally, sea bass fishing has been hot. We’re seeing tons of action on bait as well as jigs. That said, fishing is super tide-dependent. If it’s a flood tide the area has tons of cocktail blues. On the ebb tide it’s primarily porgies. Clams and squid are definitely the ticket to getting bit. That said, customers have been showing up with diamond jigs and are dredging up sea bass as well. As we venture further out, we’re noticing weird cold patches of water coming from Block Island; in these areas are plenty of sharks, dolphins, and Boston mackerel. The fishing is good, book your ticket!”

Jeff at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports: “The bite is what you’d expect; fluke fishing is solid in the bay, however, the ocean fluking isn’t too hot. As for bass fishing, it’s hit or miss. The forecast looks gnarly over the next four days. We’re at a weird time of year, the storm could turn something on for the guys fishing the inlet. Over the coming weeks, expect a big push of Spanish mackerel and bonito.”

Stu from Northport Charters reports: ”We are still bending the rod in between the storms, wind and rain. We had a productive week with charters & kids fishing camp landing some nice fluke to 6 pounds on charters, and 5 pounds in fishing camp! With all the bait now in our area—adult bunker, peanuts, spot/croakers, and spearing—my annual August fluke spots are producing some nice flatties. Plus, the rods are bending with some jumbo porgies to 2 1/2 pounds. Snappers are all over the bays, and we are catching cocktail blues and some weakfish here and there on most trips!”

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain on Long Island!

Captain Chris at the Montauk Anglers Club reports: “The highlight of the week was the inshore bluefin tuna bite. There were tons of fish caught both trolling and jigging. On average, the people I’ve spoken to caught a dozen fish each trip. Towards the end of the week, bonito were in the mix eating small trolling lures and epoxy jigs. As for bottom fishing, there were tons of sea bass limits to go around. Many of the jumbos were caught on the jighead/Gulp combo. Fluke fishing produced some really nice fish on spoons. Additionally, there is a very large amount of bluefish that have moved in and can be found from outer Shagwon to the Elbow. All of the gear mentioned above will be available at Montauk Anglers Club tackle shop. We hope to see you here soon.”

Steve at Wego Fishing Bait and Tackle in Southold reports: “We had wall-to-wall bluefish in The Gut from the top to the bottom. Monday we had a blast, the blues range from 5 pounds to 15 pounds on the scale. Diamond jigs worked the best as the blues seem to be feasting on spearing. In regards to bass, they’re hard to come by. Guys trolling umbrellas did their best if they could get away from blues. The Race slowed down due to warm weather and water, but we did have some nice sea bass in The Race in 100-120 feet of water. Our 3-man limit was achieved on Monday, fish were up to 21 inches. Artificals and high-lo rigs with squid both worked well. In the bay, porgies, weakfish and fluke are chewing high-lo rig with clam, spearing, and squid. The spots to be are Greenlawn and Jessups. If you’re looking to take your kids fishing, the snappers just moved in. Pick up some snapper poppers at the shop! Looking toward the weekend, the storm and low-pressure system should have bass fired up, especially in Montauk.”

Phil at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports: “People are still catching bass in the Sound, there are a bunch of spearing blitzes near Crane’s Neck, and these aren’t small spearing under the birds—they’re fairly large! In the back of the bay were seeing tons of cocktail blues chewing on spearing and peanut bunker at high tide. Aside from blues were people are wacking porgies just about everywhere and fluke fishing has been killer in deep water. That said, sea bass fishing has been tough, you’ll likely need to try  large wrecks rather than your typical small rock structure. Looking toward the weekend, we should see the storm bring in a nice push of fish.”

Jose at Saltwaters Bait & Tackle in West Islip reports: “Spanish mackerel showed up early morning in the back side of field two. Deadly dicks, and Joe bags resin jigs are crushing fish. We’re also seeing a couple of bluefish blitzes at night, while there mostly cocktails it’s plenty of fun. The storm could go either way, the bite could turn on or shut off, get out there and try your luck!”

This week I returned to Long Island. I immediately felt the intense heat. With fish on my mind, I took a trip out east with Captain Dave Flanagan of North Island Fly charters. As the sun began to rise, we hopped on Dave’s beautiful Pair Marine center console. Armed with jigs, Docs, and fly rods, we left Smithtown Bay and blasted east. As we left the bay we were greeted by thousands of cinder worms pulsing and gliding on the surface. While the scene looked fishy, the bass and blues were nowhere to be found. That said, we snuck into a quiet boulder field and began casting big Docs on stout, 8-foot rods.

The water was clean, slicked out, and full of spearing. As we retrieved the plug you could hear the low pitch rattle clunk from side-to-side. Within 30 minutes, the tranquil moment was shattered by a monster bluefish hammering the Doc. I wasn’t on the rod, but I was able to capture the moment on my camera. As the bluefish hit the plug it flew out of the water with killer intent.

Although it seemed like we were in for a crazy bite, the fish refused to cooperate, so we high-tailed it even further east for some more action.

Approaching another large boulder field we continued to cast plugs, and after a few casts, I switched over to an epoxy jig and began blasting porgy and sea bass. To say the least, it was beyond fun catching these fish on an ultralight setup. For the rest of the morning, we continued to crush bottom fish until the tide flipped. Once the tide switched to incoming, we decided to hunt down some Spanish mackerel. Within an hour we found a small pod, flying through the air and giving away their location. Unfortunately, those fish were too fast and quickly disappeared without a trace. If you’re looking to fish for anything that moves, Captain Dave Flanagan is your guy!

This summer has been a scorcher. Luckily, the days leading up to tropical storm Debby brought plenty of rain and lower air temperatures. If you’re looking to get on some pre- and post-front bass and bluefish action, now is the time! The fish are going to love these low-pressure systems and cooler temperatures. With plenty of spearing and croaker around it should make for an epic bite. Montauk and Orient are likely going to have some gnarly surf, however, the fish should cooperate. If you plan on fishing in this storm be sure to tag team your sessions with a buddy, it can get really gnarly really quickly. Additionally, watch out for any lightning storms, because they seem to come in quick and heavy.

As for plug/lure selection, you can’t go wrong with a bucktail and a yellow jig strip combo. Otherwise, be sure to carry a Doc, pencil popper, and epoxy jig. In regards to timing, early morning and late afternoon should yield the best results. If you plan on night fishing, it’s a great time to throw a live or rigged eel. Typically, I find that fish are schooled up this time of year so don’t be afraid to spot hop until you find a bite.