Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters (@rockfishcharters) out of Queens reports: “Jamaica Bay is baaaack! It took a week for the bite to get back to normal after all the pumping at the airport, but things are back to normal now, and we’re catching well mornings and afternoons. There’s a ton of candy-size bunker everywhere, and they’ve been real easy to net. Most of the bass are around 36 inches and up, with an occasional keeper mixed in. We’ll probably stick it out in the bay for the rest of the week, then push into the ocean for bigger fish until the end of June. We have some availability left after 6/15. Book at rockfishcharters.com or call 347-661-4501 to fish with us before we switch over to tuna full-time.”
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Captain Jess Rogers of Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reported: “Fluking has definitely picked up as the water has warmed. We are consistently seeing quality keepers up to 7 pounds on each trip. Quite a few limits have been taken as well by those who are persistent at the rail. The action isn’t the greatest, but the size of the keepers makes it worth it. Now is the time to get your spring jumbo!”
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Capt Ethan of the Angler Fleet (@anglerfleet) out of Port Washington reports: “The bass action in the Western Sound has been extremely consistent. The bunker are around in droves and it is firing up the bass to feed hard every day. With the influx of warmer weather and clear sunny days, the mid-day bite has been slowing down in certain areas. But come morning and evening, the fish are still happy and eager to take any offering you can cast at them. The fluking is picking up slowly as these sunny, hot days have been warming up the shallows and getting the fish in the mood to chew. Summer is around the corner, and the life we have been seeing in the area is keeping us excited to see what the next few months have to offer.”
Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater) reports: “Up until now, I felt like there hadn’t been much to write about. Stripers here and there, big and small, plus the occasional fluke, porgies chewing—it’s all routine stuff. Well, MDW did not disappoint despite the weather! I launched my yak during the tail end of the rain Monday morning and found striped bass blitzing on bunker. These fish were tail-slapping the surface, and the bunker were going airborne straight up. It was clear that the bunker were actually down deep and the bass were pushing them because the surface action did not last long. It was quite similar to albie fishing, with short-lived blitzes popping up all around, usually behind you after you chased the most recent one. I wanted some topwater action, so I tied on a Doc, but surprisingly the stripers were not as interested in it—a glide bait, however, was automatic. They were totally keyed in on the bunker, and I don’t think their eyes were necessarily on the surface. A large-profile swimming bait seemed to be the trick. This was during the last hour of outgoing, and even when the blitzes fully ceased, my sonar was lit up with stripers on the bottom chasing bait balls. A glide bait worked erratically usually never made it back to the kayak without getting smashed. Every fish was around 30 pounds. The next morning, I ventured out there armed with a tube-and-worm rig. The water was glass calm, and I knew that some of those bass would stick around. It didn’t take long for one to hammer my tube and worm after it was slowly dragged over a boulder pile.”
Erison (@reelsavage.e) reports: “Following the bait pattern is always key, but one of my best pointers is to fish two hours a day, every day, on certain periods of the tide, and you will find a pattern of big-fish feeding activities. Big fish will either be the first to feed or the last to feed. Also, one of the best things that helps is knowing tidal positions with currents and the size of the tides. Using an app called Tide Graph will help you BIG time.”
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports: “The bluefish just showed up, and they range from cocktails to 10 pounds! The bluefish usually turn the chunk bite on for bass, which is great. Porgies are in heavy on the boat and beach. Weakfish are still around in the bay, and guys are getting them on light-tackle jig heads and bucktails. Stripers are still really good! The post-work night bite has been fantastic! Kinda cool also, there are tinker mackerel around the mid-western Sound beaches and channels. Teen-size bunkers are all over the place, and small and large sand eels are flooding in, which is going to make for a killer fluke bite.”
Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters reported: “My weekend charters were mainly over slot 35- to 42-inch fish with a great bite off Eaton’s Neck. The bass fishing is on fire. Our Monday afternoon trip, we kept some slot fish to 31 inches with Sev, Kali and their 4-year-old twins—great time. Lots of stripers now harassing adult bunker in the Sound and reports of mackerel now in our fishery. I caught a lot of mackerel as a kid growing up in the Huntington area, so it’s good to see they are back! The fluke bite is a little slow with cooler water temperatures and they’re still on grass shrimp in the bay, but as the water gets warmer the bite will improve. Call or text (631)707-3266 today to get in on the great striper bite or go to northportcharters.com.”
Captain Dave Flanagan of North Island Fly (@northislandfly) out of Smithtown reports: “Fish have settled into just about every ledge, reef, and inshore boulder field after Memorial Day weekend. We are now seeing stripers of all sizes, from schoolies at 14 inches to larger schools of 24- to 28-inch fish, plenty of slot-size fish, as well as the usual overs. We’ve been catching fish up to 49 inches, and there seems to be no shortage of them. The hardest part is finding a good tide window paired up with a good weather window. If you can link them both up, you’ll find great success throwing large bunker imitations and mackerel imitations, as well as big plastics to imitate squid. Along the shorelines and inshore ledges, you will find tons of fish on sand eels. Try targeting them on lighter tackle with weightless soft plastics for those fish feeding up top, or put them on a small jig head from a half-ounce to one-and-a-half ounces to get those larger fish down on the bottom. We’ve also been getting a decent amount of bluefish showing up, and luckily they aren’t really mixing in with the stripers. Some of the fish we have been getting are in the 10- to 12-pound range right now—hopefully they stick around all summer long. Fly and light-tackle guys should take advantage of this excellent fishing right now that is going to last well into July if it stays at this rate.”
Kyle Ellis (@kyle_lsx) reports: “The South Shore’s still producing, day and night. If you’re tossing bucktails in the wash during daylight, there have been some solid fish pushing into the high teens. Bluefish are mostly missing in action, and when they do show, they’re small. Bigger fish have been hitting plugs worked slowly through the water at night. Color hasn’t seemed to matter, but I’d at least lean toward a bigger plug. One thing I have noticed is that weeds keep popping up in different areas depending on the tide. If your spot gets messy, don’t be afraid to bounce around and chase cleaner water. It can make all the difference.”
Nick Cherkas (@surfcasting_the_island) reports: “Memorial Day weekend brought in some amazing fishing for a stretch of days during that nor’easter, which stirred up our local waters. Continuous hard east winds allowed me to position myself in an area that I knew large migratory bass would eventually pass by. Not to our surprise, anglers that were able to bear the storm in this general area were rewarded with fish averaging in the 20-pound range, and outliers in the 30- and 40-pound-plus class not out of the equation. Metal lips and darters took the cake for most of these fish, while a variety of other glides and swimmers provided success as well. The backside of this moon, I suspect, to be a coin toss regarding feast or famine in my neck of the woods.”
Bill Falco of Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle (@chasingtailsbait) in Oakdale reports: “Bass, fluke, even some weakfish! Blues too? Yup! This week was another great one. The bass bite is crazy all over the island, and lots of big fish are hanging around. Boat guys are having a great time with poppers, swim shads, glides, trolling umbrellas, swimming bucktails, and SPs. Around the surf, we have been killing it with bottle plugs, darters, metal lips, glides, and swimbaits. Bluefish have popped up here and there, thrashing on pencil poppers and metal lips. They’ll be all over the place soon, I’m sure. Fluke reports are coming in hot, and lots of solid flatties are in the bay. Our shop bait rigs and bucktail rigs are their favorite, of course, but they also love other stuff. Add your favorite bait or soft plastic and you’re ready to go. Weakfish reports are few and far between, but most of them seem to be in that beautiful 4- to 6-pound range. Fish light and fish bright! Me and the homies Vinny Cagnina (@vincecags) and Chaz Abarno (@mtkill_) went out with Capt. Dave Flanagan last night to give his new boat a proper first-night trip, and we had a blast fishing with him and finding bass all over. I happened to grab the first one under the cover of darkness!”
Scott Monahan (@bonesyfishing) reports: “This past week has seen a slower bite on the South Shore beaches. Still plenty of good bass around if you grind and are throwing what they want. Swarters, Skippers, and Cowdozer metal lips have been my top producers. Action should increase leading up to the full moon on open beaches and inlets. If you choose the right plug for the conditions, you should have a good shot at nice fish. Hit those beaches!”
Aqualina Charters (@aqualinacharters) out of Moriches Bay reports: “Unfortunately, I didn’t fish this weekend due to the heavy rain and wind. However, I got out Tuesday and had a slower pick of fluke. The water temp went from 66 to 56 in a week, which definitely affected the bite. Fluke were in my usual spots but they were just mouthing the bait and not being aggressive. The good news is some baitfish moved in, and we worked those areas, and the guys were able to put a few keepers in the boat.”
Capt. Pete Douma (@doum_flies) of Windward Outfitters out of Montauk reports: “Fishing just keeps getting better here in Montauk. Tough weather week, but when you got opportunities they paid off. Still plenty of butterfish and squid, but sand eels have shown up too. There is a crazy amount of bait in the water right now. Plenty of really quality bass have been biting through both tides, both down deep and on top. Everything from Flatwings, to Clousers, to popper flies seems to get bit. On spin, XL Fish Snax and Docs are crushing fish on top with paddletails and bucktails down deep. They aren’t picky though. We also got a push of bluefish in, finally. They’ve mostly kept to the bay, but every so often we are finding them out front, too. With water temps still in the mid- to low-50s and as much bait as there is, I think this is the start of a really good bite here.”
Capt. Rob Lehnert of North Fork Adventure Charters out of Southold reports: “Last weekend I went out Friday, and there was a decent bass bite—we caught half a dozen fish. Saturday morning we caught a bunch of short fluke. The fishing should heat up soon; it’s only a matter of time. We have some weather moving in, but after this weekend we should be in the clear.”
The Author’s Experience
This weekend Andrew Bernat (@tactical_bassin26) and I fished in the ocean, and we crushed 12 fish over 40 pounds on rigged eels and snap jigs. The key is to fish inshore reefs with sharp bottom contour. In order to find the fish, you need to mull around the high and low spots of the reef. Fish will be glued to the bottom or in the middle of the water column. Drift into the fish naturally rather than set up on top of them!
As far as the Western Sound goes, on Monday, Andrew and I went out hunting for a big fish with the 14-inch Clobber Co. Freak. We pulled up on a jagged bottom contour with fish on the bottom ranging from 20 to 40 feet. As the later morning kicked in, the fish began to rocket up through the water column and blow up bait. However, we were bombarded by boat traffic, so we tucked into a little quieter area.
Within my first cast in the calm slick water, I blasted a 40-pounder on the Freak. For the next several hours, we traded off on 20- to 30-pound fish before making our way back into our local waters.
Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast
There are huge fish in the Sound eating bunker, mackerel, spearing, and sand eels. These fish have a rotating buffet that they can choose from. That said, the trend in the Sound has been the outgoing tide. The rush of water pouring out of the local harbors and bays has these fish fired up! Large topwaters, glide baits, metal lips, and flutter spoons have been picking up some XXL fish.
These fish are actively migrating from west to east. The Western Sound is loaded with fish ranging from 10 pounds to 50 pounds, but they are spreading out and shooting up the CT and NY coastline. Any day now these fish should be blasting up toward Orient and Montauk.
All things considered, there are still a ton of fish in the Hudson River. My good friend Chris Oliver of Keepin’ It Reel Sportfishing has shared multiple videos of loaded screens and spawning activity. I believe we’re due for another big push of fish across the Sound.
As for water temperatures, we’re a few weeks behind the last few years’ water temps, but it could make for a longstanding bite well into summer. Looking ahead, we have the full moon on May 31. That means stronger incoming and outgoing tides, which create stronger currents. This moon could shape up for an epic night bite in the Sound. If you put in the time the three days before and after the moon, you might see some magical things happen.
As far as the South Shore goes, bluefish are finally showing up. Pack your tins, jigs, and poppers. They might push out the bass, but man are they fun! We’re going to be experiencing some potentially hefty winds this weekend, so pack your bottle darters and bucktails if you plan on hitting the open beach.
Put in the time and you will be rewarded!