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).
Captain Stu from Northport Charters reports: “All the kids got in on the jumbo porgy bite on Monday. The high winds and rough seas in the Sound have mostly kept us fishing inside the bays this week. That said, we’re still catching porgies to 2-1/2 pounds and some nice keeper sea bass as well. We had some 6-year-old boys catching porgy on Monday and it was their first time catching keepers—they are now hooked for life! Plus, we had a nice fight with 4- to 6-pound blues nailing our high-low rigs, eating squid & spearing. Also, there were quite a lot of snapper blitzes outside Eaton’s Neck CG station. Great fight on super-light tackle. Still lots of peanuts & spearing in the bays and LI Sound, so it is setting up for a great fall run! Call or text (631) 707-3266 for reservations or go to northportcharters.com.”
Bill at Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle in Oakdale reports: “Fall is here this weekend and the fishing couldn’t be better. Stripers are showing up in their usual fall spots already. Nothing huge, but all solid fish. Bucktails, diamond jigs, swim shads, and spooks are the name of the game right now. Fluke action is non-stop, with lots of solid fish in the 4- to 6-pound range roaming the bays. This continues to be one of the best fluke seasons we’ve seen in a while—most anglers are catching well over 40 fish per trip, and the keepers are fat! Right along with them are some weakfish. They’re starting to come back around and show face; think lightweight jigheads and small, bright soft plastics. Fish light rods with light line and light fluorocarbon leader for your best chance. Cocktail blues are running the entire bay, smashing plugs and destroying bait schools. They’re eating anything right now, so toss a tin, a bucktail, or sacrifice some soft plastics for some drag-pulling action. The local docks are absolutely loaded with snappers and some bigger bluefish as well. Blue claw crabs, blowfish, and some kingfish are still being caught too.”
Captain Chris at the Montauk Anglers Club reports: “It was an exciting week of fishing in Montauk. The return of the false albacore and striped bass has been the highlight for me. Striped bass fishing has been best at night time, soaking eels or drifting them. Super Strike little neck poppers in white have been super effective as well. Many people caught their personal best on that lure in the surf this week. False albacore can now be found from town northside and southside to the lighthouse, with green bonito in the mix. Blues are available on every shoreline, fishing has been great from the boat, from shore and even offshore before the blow.”
Sean Conway (@long_island_fishing_guy) reports from the North Shore: “It’s still coming together. The bait has been stacked all summer so it was only a matter of time. I went out last night and it was tough, my buddy landed 1 slot and that was it. I know bunker moved into the back bays and guys were picking up big blues on them. The bite seems very tide dependent but it’s slowly turning on. Outgoing always seems to be the best.”
Steve at Wego Fishing Bait and Tackle in Southold reports: “The forecast looks like it’s going to set up some awesome fishing for the future. The northeast blow could make for an incredible start to the fall run. The tuna bite is still hot, plugging, jigging, and chunking. Get your butterfish while you can! We’re running out quickly. Porgies and weakfish are still in the bay, and in the deeper holes there are blues up to 7 pounds. The Gut and The Race are still mostly full of bluefish, with occasional bass as well as a few sea bass mixed in. The beaches in the Sound have porgies, and there are a few bass to be caught when the sun goes down. After dark, the sharks seem to come into the shallows.”
Phil at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports: “There are a couple bigger bass in the bays, guys fishing light tackle are getting smoked by a few larger fish. On the outside there are 6- to 8-pound blues chomping on peanut bunker. As fall starts to kick in, albie fever is also beginning to turn on. We’ve got you covered with plenty of NLBN’s, epoxy jigs, and everything you need!”
Bella Hirschfeld (@bellahirschfeldd) took a trip on the Rosie out of Moriches Bay and reported: “Fishing on the Rosie out of Moriches was pretty solid. Light jigging with a bucktail and some fluke belly strips worked just fine. At times the bite was so active that jigging wasn’t as necessary. Fishing with peanut bunker was the alternative move for the evening and it didn’t disappoint. A chicken rig setup did the trick. Overall a fun night!”
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This weekend I put in some serious time on the Sound. While I intended to rip around looking for albies, the weather on Sunday kept me local. To say the least, it was a grind; the most I could conjure up was a few aggressive 5- to 8-pound bluefish. Usually, I find this class of fish blitzing on small peanuts or spearing, however, they refused to show themselves on the surface. While it looked dead, blind casts were the most fruitful. The most conducive area was a small boulder field on the edge of a sand flat. As we methodically worked our plugs around boulders and sandy edges, we were stunned to find small packs of fish randomly crushing our plugs. For 30 to 45 minutes at a time, the fish would be hot on the plug and then disappear into thin air. While it was a weird bite, it was nice to see some topwater action.
Typically, the Doc and large pencil poppers crush blues, however, it seems as though the fish wanted smaller, more subtle plugs. The top performer seemed to be a white Yo-Zuri Inshore Pencil in bone white as well as the Joe Baggs Swarter.
Looking ahead, I’ll be moving my boat to Orient Point for the fall albie run!
Eastern Long Island Fishing Forecast
The time has come. The September full moon just passed on the 17th. This means residual exacerbated tides and happy fish. As a reminder, the three days before and after are prime time for fish activity. That said, over the next few days we’re going to experience some sporty fall conditions. It looks like the north wind is taking over the island. As the sharpies always say, a north wind in the fall is KILLER! It’s a great time to test the open beach. Large surf should have fish fired up. Montauk is going to be hot. If you plan on heading out that way, proceed with caution. The surf is going to get big and nasty!
In terms of daytime lure choice you can’t go wrong with a Smiling Bill bucktail, 24/7 pencil popper, Super Strike bottle plug, a diamond jig, or Yo-Zuri Mag Darter. As for the nighttime bag, keep your darters and add some Super Strike needlefish and large paddletails, as well as some Joe Baggs Block Island Eels! If the open beach isn’t for you, the back bays are starting to cool down and should have some happy, hungry fish. There is plenty of rain bait like sand eels, anchovies, and spearing in the Eastern LI back bays. Your standard minnow plugs should produce; my favorites include the Daiwa SP Minnow, Cotton Cordell Redfin, Mag Darter, and Joe Baggs Swarter.
Get out there, break out the foul-weather gear and slam some 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 compiled and written by NYSDEC licensed kayak fishing guide, Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater).
- Back bays alive with weakfish, bluefish, and striped bass.
- Mullet flood the surf.
- Fluking remains productive throughout the extended season.
- Non-stop porgy action with no signs of slowing down on the North Shore.
John from Freeport Bait and Tackle reports: “Bluefish have been blitzing at Green Island; it has been a real feeding frenzy over the past few days. We have fresh bunker for those who want to use bait and every lure in the book for those who don’t. Fluking has been winding down, but some big, lazy doormats are still lurking in the back bays. The reefs probably have nice fluke on them, but with this wind it’s unlikely anyone’s going to be getting out there. We’ve had striped bass off the beaches hitting Tsunami bunker shads, Z-Man paddletails, and Joe Baggs Swarters.”
Brandon Weitz from Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh told me: “We’ve had a really good bluefish bite on the west end, all on topwater! Plus, inshore pelagics like bonito and Spanish mackerel have been under the birds. Offshore fishing won’t be feasible while this wind is blowing, so stop by the shop and pick up some plugs for casting off the beaches and jetties! It’s going to be an epic weekend regardless of the conditions.”
Jamie from Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside said: “We’ve had reports of striped bass pinning bait against the beach this week! Mid-size floating minnow plugs and small topwater poppers are great for matching the hatch this time of year. Bluefish and bonito have also been under the birds and easy to find—Caiden Downing hooked a nice bonito while fishing with epoxy jigs this week. Bay Park is open 7 days a week and has everything you need, offshore or inshore!”
Rich from Lindenhurst Bait and Tackle reports: “Stripers have been feeding well at night, while fluke continue to show up in big size and big numbers. Live-lining peanut bunker or killies is a solid way to catch a doormat, but the classic bucktail with Gulp or spearing will work just as well. Bluefish are still abundant in the bays, providing a lot of fun on topwater.”
Josh Rogers from Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reports: “With the ocean all messed up from the east wind, we decided to capitalize on the good striped bass fishing happening in our area. Countless stripers up to 44 inches were caught and released this week, along with a few slots to bring home. Live eels have been key to getting bit. We will continue striper fishing until the New York blackfish season opens up on October 15!”
Cpt. Doug from Corazon Charters in Freeport said: “When the wind is not blowing we are still catching Fluke – now is the time for the single DD fish! Sea Bass are moving deeper and we will continue catching them. We have been doing Slow Pitch jig trips which are a lot of fun. Bonito in mix makes it even better. Offshore has been inconsistent but we look forward to fishing that hard after the weather breaks next week!”
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Here’s what local anglers have been posting on social media:
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I got out this past weekend with our Eastern LI report author, Jack Larizadeh. When I got home from Montauk Saturday night, I immediately received a text along the lines of: “Sunrise to sunset albies in the Sound tomorrow—you in?” Six hours later, I found myself in a Boston Whaler steaming into Long Island Sound.
Our original mission was to burn east for false albacore, but the wind and waves forced us to pivot to the back bays and coves. It was there that we found some pretty consistent bluefish action on the flats, with fish pushing 10 pounds. Not quite “gators”, but large enough to peel drag and produce explosive topwater feeds. We agreed that last year set a high bar for bluefish that this year just hasn’t lived up to. It seems like a toss-up every year whether or not the gator bluefish will really show up.
We had good action on swimming plugs, but most of it came from working a spook-style lure on top. At one point, Jack, his buddy whom we referred to as ‘New Jersey’, and I were all tripled-up, after Jack nailed a bluefish with a popper-fly. There would be lulls in the action and we’d have to move a few feet and drop anchor to avoid beaching his Whaler, as the fish were in close to the beaches in shallow water.
It was strange to find these bluefish, as they were quite a distance from some massive rain bait schools we passed on our way out, just meandering on the flats. I’ve referred to this as the “calm before the storm” period, before the true fall run begins. Sooner or later, we should see some epic baitfish eruptions when these bluefish come back to life. For now, it seemed we had to more or less nail them on the head with topwater lures to entice a bite.
Western Long Island Fishing Forecast
There’s going to be a ton of wind this weekend, but it’s not a complete wash for vessel-bound anglers. There are windows of opportunity to get out in the bays on a boat or kayak, and I wouldn’t trust the forecast until at least the day before. From Friday to pretty much the end of the month, however, the fan turns on and is only going to shut down for a few hours at a time.
In the surf, there’s been an absolutely epic mullet run taking place, and you should give this article by OTW’s Matt Haeffner a read for strategies and tips around these baitfish.
On the North Shore, the boulder fields have been holding big bass and the sand flats have had big bluefish. They haven’t been super active during the day, with most of the fun happening at night.
The shore-based fluking has continued to be pretty good through the extended season, with a new end date of Oct. 15, the same time blackfish season starts. We’ve seen some really nice fluke caught over the past week and they’re a welcome bycatch while working bucktails for bass and weakfish, but most of the big ones are being caught on live baits like peanut bunker.
Pelagics are continuing to run and you can find bonito and Spanish mackerel out there. Albies – well, maybe. It’s definitely been a spotty year so far, and a recent 2-day trip to Montauk yielded none for me, but a ton of bluefish, bonito, and a few Spanish mackerel which looked quite a bit like albies blitzing from afar. False albacore appeared in both the Long Island Sound and on the South Shore over the past weekend, but you have to be in the right place at the right time to find them, and they’re out of reach for shore anglers, for now. Last October they came as far west as the Throgs Neck bridge, so hopefully that will be the case this year. The bones and Spanish macks have been the consolation prizes for false albacore trips that come up short and are very plentiful and easy to spot.
In my neck of the woods on the North Shore, one species remains constant: porgy. While it seemed like they were off to a later start this year, once the porgies started biting they never really stopped. Every time I’m on the water I’ll see a shore-based or vessel-bound angler bailing one porgy after the other on a clam or worm-tipped hi-lo rig, and dropping a metal or epoxy jig directly over some rocks almost always yields a skunk-saving porgy.
Get your time on the water in while you can, then break out the Korkers and surf gear. It’s a shore-caster’s weekend.
Thanks for reading, and tight lines.
The Western L.I./NYC Fishing Report is compiled and written by NYSDEC licensed kayak fishing guide, Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater).