Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
North Shore
The Angler Fleet (@anglerfleet) out of Port Washington reports: “The action on the porgy grounds continues to be good. With the water cooling down, the ratio of keepers to shorts is getting better. We have continued to see tons of bait and bass feeding under them, while cocktail blues are on the surface. We will begin scouting for blackfish and stripers very soon. It’s shaping up to be a great fall.”
Captain Arthur Cortes of Cortes Outfitters (@cortes.outfitters) in NYC reports: “Fishing in Jamaica Bay remains solid with weakfish, striped bass and blues continuing to feed on peanut bunker. The nighttime bite is beginning to turn on with bigger striped bass being caught. Our fly choice this week: all white Deceiver. Lure choice this week: Jim Jaget metal lip. To get in on the action, call or text 347-326-4750 or visit cortesoutfitters.com.”
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Mark at Cow Harbor in Northport reports: “The bait that’s in the bay is peanut bunker, and they are actually 2 to 5 inches, which is awesome. Once air temps drop the blues and bass will start blitzing. In other news, I heard that bay anchovies are outside the bay which should bring in the albies. There are plenty of porgies out there, and blues ranging from cocktails to 5 pounds. Some people are still getting bass locally as well. East of here, in Smithtown, the back harbor and rivers are giving up big fish on live eels. After the NE wind, we should see plenty of albies locally. We want water temps to cool down, because the east and northeast winds are going to push big schools of fish toward our area. Stripers should also be popping off on the south shore any day near Robert Moses! Visit cowharbortackle.com or call 631-239-1631.”
Marc Achtziger (@salty_ax) reports: “The bones are back in town! Schools of bonito are roaming deep water in the middle of Long Island Sound. These fish are bigger than last year’s group, and they’re feeding hard when the boat traffic is light. We caught most of the fish on a 1-ounce JoeBaggs resin jig. Even after the school of fish seemingly disappeared, they were still chewing! The key to finding a blitz is to keep a good distance from the bait and wait for the surface action to fire up. With these nice-sized bonito showing, we’re looking forward to the false albacore arriving any day now.”
Sean Conway (@long_island_fishing_guy) in Smithtown reports: “Fishing has really started to heat up locally. There are tons of blues, most of which are cocktails in that 5- to 8-pound range, with a few rogue behemoth blues in the mix, along with schoolie and slot-size bass. There are loads of spearing and peanut bunker around in the surf, and reports of large schools of adult bunker further out. If you’re fishing deeper water and plugs aren’t getting it done, switch to a bucktail or a soft plastic and work the bottom in those deeper spots. I’ve been finding some decent fish hugging the bottom. Hardtails are also around, so make sure to carry some epoxy jigs or Deadly Dicks if you’re fishing during the light hours; you never know when they’ll pop up within casting range.”
Captain Scott Worth of North Fork Light Tackle Charters reports: “The fall run is has continued to take shape on the east end. We had some great action last weekend with albies and bass blitzing within 100 yards of each other. In between these heavy easterly blows, we anticipate the good fishing to continue.”
South Shore
Captain Josh Rogers of Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reports: “The fluke bite has dwindled so we have transitioned into our fall schedule. Big stripers, lots of weakfish, gator blues and some plump fluke have been captured on our mixed bag fishing trips this past week. This is the perfect time of year for action-packed outings. We will continue to sail these types of trips until the blackfish opener on October 15!”
Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters (@rockfishcharters) out of Queens reports: “Yellowfin fishing continues to be really consistent with every trip hooking around a dozen fish and coming home with 3 to 6, which makes for a fun, action-filled day of chunking and jigging. As long as you bring LOTS of peanut bunker, the fish will find you at some point and will start rolling in the slick. This is a great time of year to bring the family out to get the next generation of anglers hooked on tuna fishing! Most of the fish are 50 to 70 pounds, which is a fun fight that your average 15-year-old can land on light tackle.”
Captain Doug Touback of Corazon Charters in Freeport reports: “We have been running mixed-bag trips and they have been epic! Fluke, sea bass, mahi, triggers, and much more. Fluke season is winding down, but there are still fluke to be caught, and the next week or so will bring shots at those 10-pound fish—but this is low action/high reward fishing. We are starting to prepare to run offshore for tuna.”
Tom Truehart (@northshoretommy) reports: “I went out of Fire Island Inlet on Saturday morning with a friend. Heard of a nice bite that’s been going on about 60 miles out, so we loaded up with bait and sent it on a 38-foot Pursuit. Unfortunately, things changed and we had to head back in, which was a bummer, so on Sunday I was determined to go. The weather was great and I knew I had to take advantage of it on my boat—a 23-foot CC with a single Yamaha on the back. I had plans and rearranged everything last minute, which led to me leaving the dock around 10 AM in search of yellowfin tuna. This time, I went about 45 miles or so out of Moriches to another bite that’s been going on. No crew, little bait, and a full tank of gas 45 miles offshore led to one of the best yellowfin bites I have been on all year. One after the other, all on butterfish, using 40-pound fluorocarbon, 4/0 circle hooks and some light jigging rods. There I am, middle of the ocean tight on yellowfin, rod in one hand, gaff in the other, and I stuck the first fish and landed it. The next fish came shortly after that, and I fished until all my bait was gone and headed back to the dock around 4 PM with a limit of yellows and a few more released. Fall run is just getting started and I’m sure we’re all really looking forward to it.”
Max Fineman (@finemanfishes) reports: “It was a tough weekend; Friday saw no albies on the inshore trip but we found some blues on topwater to salvage the day. Saturday I went to Hudson Canyon and all we found were mahi and almaco jacks. Yesterday, Wyatt and I fished from sun up to down and managed 2 albies, 5 keeper fluke, and bluefish every cast on topwater. There were tons of albies around Moriches just running in smaller schools than we were used to seeing. Yesterday was the first time Wyatt or I had ever seen them come all the way into the inlet beyond the jetty, which was very cool to witness.”
Bill Falco (@fishlongisland) at Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle in Oakdale reports: “With fluke season coming to an end soon, the reports are on fire! The shallows and flats are loaded up with quality fish, eager to get that last big meal in before moving out. My father and I took out the boat on Sunday after work to try and grab a few. We had great luck jigging jerk shads, with a bunch of shorts and some nice, thick keepers over the 20-inch mark. On the last drift of the evening, I had a monster grab my jig and take off running. After a few good runs and convincing my father it wasn’t a dogfish and the net would be handy, a 28-inch, 9-pound fluke hit the deck. A fish of a lifetime that I’m so happy to share with the old man. If you’re looking to catch your next PB fluke, stop into the shop and get your jerk shads ASAP! Weakfish are starting to pop up more often in the same holes where the fluke are hiding out. Fish small and light so you can feel them bite. We are having the most success on small Saltwater Assassin paddletails on a plain jighead. Albies, bonito, and Spanish mackerel have been ripping through schools of bait in the inlets like mad. Epoxy jigs are getting smoked all day from the boats, the jetty rocks, and the beaches. Striped bass are starting to show out east, crushing bucktails and darters on moving tides. The fall run is so close I can smell it … or is that my waders?
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Captain Adam Ross of Tuna Cartel (@tunacartelofficial) reports: “This week I ran a clients 37-foot Regulator out to the canyons, and as we set up our spread at 4 PM we got crushed by a monster bigeye. With some meat in the boat, we transitioned over to yellowfin and picked away on chunks and jigs until 8 PM. For a minute things got quiet, until 1 AM, when we saw a monster swordfish enter the lights on the transom and eat our bait. After a 20-minute battle we had the 200-pound-plus sword drilled with a dart; that said, the fish saw the boat and immediately took off. A few minutes later, the dart line snapped and our hook pulled! While we were unlucky, we reset our drift, carried on, and were able to boat two more bigeye on jigs! All in all, we had a killer outing.”
Captain Peter Douma (@doum_flies) of Windward Outfitters in Montauk reports: “The last week or so has produced some of the best albie fishing we have seen here in the Montauk area in some time. While we have had them on both tides, it has really shined on the incoming. We are seeing some large blitzes, but it’s mostly been very quick, small blow ups on mini bay anchovy bait balls. Luckily, there are a lot of them, and on a single drift you’ll get multiple shots. Drifting, rather than run-and-gun is far more productive. Getting away from the fleet of boats will give you way more shots, too. Albie Snax and floating flies are great for blind casting between these blowups, but if you’re casting to breaking fish, the shearwaters make it almost impossible. This is where jigs and small flies like Surf Candies on intermediate lines are key. The fish haven’t been too picky, so just getting in quick is far more important than what you throw. With water temps still hovering around 70 degrees, we haven’t seen many bass yet, but this albie bite is certainly keeping us busy.”
Anthony from Go Deep MTK (@godeepmtk) reports: “Before the weekend I was still chasing albies on the boat, finding them very easily and making short trips to catch endless amounts. Friday was the release of our Bar Breaker Rattle Edition and our website was re-released over the weekend as-well, so I spent most of the weekend on the road with dealers doing promotionals. As soon as I got back Sunday night, I started hitting the surf. I’m finding weakfish and shad up and down the beaches on small bucktails under an ounce. Luckily, I stumbled upon a few bass early Tuesday morning tossing a pink and bronze Slob Slammer. The days are shorter, the moons are coming, and weather looks good for the foreseeable future, so if you love surf fishing, it’s the start of the best time of year in Montauk.”
Emre Parlak (@emreerparlak.fishing) reports: “We left out of Southold, ran to Montauk and turned the corner heading west where we first found some bonito and blues. After searching more, we saw a few albies surface sporadically. We started blind casting and quickly hooked up… it was steady action blind casting and drifting from 60 to 30 feet of water. It seemed like they were riding the rip line on the beach, because every 15 or 20 minutes they would come by in big pods, even if not blitzing. However, as we sat and drifted with the engine off, there were a few ragers that popped up within casting range.”
Captain Tim O’Rourke of Montauk Point Fly Fishing (@mtkpointflyfishing) reports: “The fishing for false albacore is still good and consistent, whether on spinning tackle or fly fishing gear. The increase in boats is definitely starting to impact the fishing, but if you can get away from the crowds it’s a good time. Offshore is still producing good catches, with a lot of quality yellowfin and bigeye tuna. Some other catches include blue and white marlin, the occasional sword, and even a few big wahoo.”
The Author’s Experience
This week I focused my efforts on chasing albies off Nantucket; however, the fish seem to have disappeared. That said, I was able to jig plenty of sea bass, porgy, bluefish, and bonito. Nantucket is known as one of the best albie fisheries in the world, but the last two seasons have been difficult from both the boat and the beach. I’m not sure why this is happening, but hopefully next season it returns to normal. One thing is for sure: there is no shortage of bluefish and bonito up here. Sounds like I need to be back in New York where the albies are plentiful!
Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast
There is nothing better than a northeast blow in the fall. The sustained north winds will continue to cool things down which, in turn, fires up the fish. Everyone thinks the fall run starts in October, but the big fish are beginning to move around. It’s time to hit the open beach at night with needlefish, darters, gliders, and eels. Some of the largest fish begin their migration early, so if you’re after a cow, now is the time to log those night shifts on the open beach.
On the albie front, the bite continues to be hot. It seems like those Montauk fish are sliding deeper into the Sound, and the north winds should push them right into the western Sound any day now. It’s an albie run for the books. In your bag/box you should carry pink, pearl, and sand eel-colored Snax rigged on an Owner Beast Hook. As for jigs, there are a myriad of options. My favorites include ½- to 1-ounce JoeBaggs, Game On, Fat Cow, and Hogy jigs in chartreuse, silver, and white. When it comes to leader, 12- to 20-pound fluoro is a must! On the fly front, Fulling Mill has you covered with plenty of sand eel-style patterns. As I’ve mentioned in the past, they have a fantastic collection of silverside and spearing style flies too. For fly leader, I’d recommend a 12-foot section starting with 40-pound attached to 30, and ending with 20.
In addition to bass and albies, the fluke bite is still solid! We have plenty of time left before the season closes on October 15. The south shore inlets should have fish actively feeding on sand eels, spearing, and peanuts. As Bill Falco proved, there are some really solid fish around if you put in the time.