Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
Captain Kenny of the Angler Fleet out of Port Washington reports: “We still have a lot of bass in the area, and while the trolling bite has died down, they are chewing on spoons and plugs just the same. Bunker are around, making live-line and chunk trips super productive with slot-size fish and above. The fluke bite is getting better every day—we’re seeing keepers in the mix and just waiting for the porgies to join in locally.”
Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters reported: “Our charters this week saw stripers that were mainly over-slot, 33- to 40-inch fish with a great bite in the mid-Sound. Last Friday’s trip the bass bite died and we ran around targeting fluke with Ryan and Pastor Brian. Ryan had the biggest fluke at 5 1/2-pounds that trip. It was a great time. Lots of stripers now harassing adult bunker and sand eels in the Sound now in our local fishery. The fluke bite is slowly improving with warmer 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.
Capt. Rob Lehnert of North Fork Adventure Charters out of Southold reports: “Stripers are still on the menu for the daytime bite. They are around, but picky eaters. I was out yesterday and they were all over our flutter spoons. The water got a bit colder after last weekend’s storm. I have trips this weekend, and next week I’ve got both striper and inshore bottom fishing trips. I haven’t done much bottom fishing, but I’ve got short fluke and a few nice weakfish.”
Captain Jess Rogers of Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reported: “Striper fishing continues to be excellent on both boats, and we expect the bite to last all summer long. Striped bass trips are available by private charter only. We are sailing daily for fluke on our open boat trips. We saw a very good week with a new body of fished that moved into the area. Some days were stellar and some were a little slower, but limits have been taken on all trips with fish to 8 lbs. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come with the rising temps and abundance of bait in the area.”
Captain Doug Touback of Corazon Fishing Charters out of Freeport reports: “Bottom fishing has gotten stronger. There are a lot of sand eels, so that’s a good sign for fluke this summer. We’ll start thresher fishing for a short while in the coming weeks.”
Bill Falco (@chasingtailsbait) of Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports: “We had some great bass fishing this week. The inlets are holding some chunky fish, and the deeper ocean water is still holding some good ones. Grab some bucktails, Slug-gos, or even some live eels and get ’em down where the cows graze. Fluke and weakfish reports are coming in pretty hot as well. Lots of good marks at the usual weakie spots, but you have to fish small; 3- and 4-inch soft plastics are getting hit pretty consistently. Fluke are all over the channels, sitting in holes and on the slopes. They’re loving our shop rigs tipped with bait, but you can do very well with light-tackle jigging as well. Put your favorite soft plastic on a ball jighead and get it down there on some light line.”
Aqualina Charters out of Moriches Bay reports: “The fluke bite is picking up with fish to 5 lbs. The fishing has shown a slight improvement with the water temps in the bay rising. It will only get better with the amount of bait around. Bass are in the inlet taking live baits, and they are mostly over-slot size.”
- Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Long Island and NYC
Capt. Pete Douma (@doum_flies) of Windward Outfitters out of Montauk reports: “This week was really all about the squid bite. The week started off looking like the blues were taking over and the bass bite was slowing, but pretty soon a new body of big fish showed up and changed that. Acres of sand eels have moved in, but squid seems to be the favorite bait for the bigger fish. We caught more 40-inch-plus bass this week than I probably got all last fall. The big fish of the week went to Tim Kenny with his 48-inch bass that crushed a Doc. Popper flies, Flatwings, and really any large presentation fly is getting hit both on top or with a heavy line. On the spinning side, 9-inch Docs, Super Snax and XL Fish Snax work great on the blind, or when sight casting at popping fish. A slow retrieve has worked better. Down deep, it’s tough to beat a bucktail. Long drifts looking for big birds and slow rises, rather than run and gun, is the best way to find them. They’re big, lazy fish; once you see them, chances are they are still close, sometimes even stuck in a cloud of squid ink. I’ve had more luck on the flood lately, but the ebb is producing too. On the bluefish front, I see more every day and bigger ones are filling in with the cocktails. It’s been a great spring here.”
Nick Cherkas (@surfcasting_the_island) reports: “The waves of fish that have been passing us by have been small and sporadic, with your occasional shot at being able to hang a late-spring brute. Nighttime and early twilight hours have seemed to be the magical window of opportunity, with a variety of large-profile plugs remaining useful. Skippers, metal lips, darters, and other swimmers have been taking the majority of fish at the inlets and along the sand beaches. The dog days of summer will be among us before we know it—make the remaining days count.”
Scott Monahan (@bonesyfishing) reports: “The bite on the south shore beaches has started to slow down. The new moon is most likely the last shot at some fish in the middle of the island. Those who grind hard have a chance of being rewarded with a true giant bass. There are very few coming through, so sharpen those hooks and beef up your terminal tackle!”
The Author’s Experience
At the end of last week, I hopped on the Angler Fleet for a chunk-fishing trip. The chunk bite was hot in 20 feet of water. Bunker heads and body pieces on a fish-finder rig were the ticket. As the sun went down and the outgoing tide rushed through a rocky outcrop, the bite picked up. Several 20-pound fish and small schoolies were landed. I had a big run-off that I missed; that said, I did get redemption on a schoolie! My buddy Andrew Bernat had the fish of the night at around 30 pounds, which smoked a bunker head. The fish fought hard, making for an exciting battle.
The large fish that I was on are slowly moving east. My usual Western Sound haunts certainly have fish; however, the class of fish is in the teens rather than the upper-30- to low-40-pound range. The theme has been the outgoing tide into dead low. Something about the outgoing gets fish fired up on bunker. Two hours into the outgoing, I’m finding small pods of fish blasting bunker on the surface. If I can get to them before someone runs them over at 40 miles an hour, I usually hook up. That said, the crowds have been brutal. I’m not knocking any boaters in particular, but etiquette this year has been non-existent. We’ve got to be better.
Here are a few unwritten rules:
- If someone is drifting into a school of fish upwind of you, don’t come rushing in from 600 feet away and run through the blitz if it’s next to their boat.
- Don’t troll through a fleet of anglers casting at blitzing fish.
- If you can hit another boat with a cast, you’re likely too close.
Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast
Heads up, folks, the June new moon is on the 14th! I may sound like a broken record, but I always emphasize the new and full moon.
Why does this moon matter?
Tides are more extreme during the three days before and after the new or full moon. It brings stronger flood tides (incoming water) and stronger ebb tides (outgoing water). These tidal changes also come with stronger currents that create rip lines.
What does this mean for striped bass in June?
While March through May is a wide-open bite in the channels and back bays, June is when the fish begin “rocking up” for the summer. Resident fish stick around boulder fields and reefs while other fish migrate through the Sound further and further east. Pairing a quiet boulder field with enhanced current can create a few days of fantastic fishing, particularly for large striped bass.
If you can find a boulder field, look for current sweeps that move right to left or vice versa. The key is to cast plugs at the beginning of the current sweep, which allows you to work the sweep properly. My favorite plugs to work in the sweep this time of year are Super Strike darters, XL Mag Darters, giant Scabelly/Back Bay metal lips, Gravity Tackle eels, and, of course, bucktails.
Where should I fish for stripers?
The fish have been around Long Island for a few months now. We’ve had several pushes of migratory bass through the Sound and along the South Shore. The Western Sound and South Shore bays have warmed up quite a bit over the last few weeks, with water temperatures pushing into the mid-60s. As a result, a large amount of fish have continued their migration east toward the mid-Sound, Orient, and Montauk—as evidenced by Pete Douma’s report.
Fresh batches of fish are heading toward the Eastern Sound as we speak. If you fish farther east, you have the highest probability of running into a cow. I’d recommend setting up on a boulder field in the Sound and avoiding the backwaters. Back-bay activity has slowed down, and these transient and resident fish will be moving in and out of rock piles and nearshore reefs on their journey up the coast.
What bait is around?
To put it bluntly, we have a serious bunker issue. Not only are bunker scarce, but they also seem to be severely undersized. We usually see large pods of XL bunker running through the Sound. At the moment, we are seeing 5- to 8-inch bunker.
That said, we have an influx of alewives, mackerel, butterfish, and sand eels. A lesser-known fact is that large stripers in the boulder fields will eat tog (and other bottom dwellers) anywhere from 5 to 15 inches long. These are trophy fish looking for a big meal. If they can’t find a bunker, species like tog or porgy are the next best thing.
How do I store all these plugs?
Having the right system in place is crucial. The last thing you want to do is waste precious time fumbling through your bag, emptying your bag, or, even worse, stuffing plugs in a wader pouch.
If y’all don’t have one already, I’d recommend a high-quality surf bag and belt to keep everything centralized, from your Boga and pliers to your favorite plugs. My favorite bag at the moment is the two-cylinder Ebb Point Surfcasting bag. I’m not the type of guy to use four to six cylinders; if my staple plugs—those I have the most confidence in—aren’t working, I’m packing it in!
What about fluke fishing?
Good news: water temperatures are warming up in the Sound, and we just received a big push of sand eels from the eastern Sound. This is going to fuel a fantastic bite.
If you’re into jigging, my favorite jigs include the Stack Tackle Screwy Heads, Bluff Lures Sea Funks, and small Spro bucktails. As for teasers, you can’t go wrong with Jigging World Fluke Candy Teasers. For scented products, Gulp! Swimming Mullet or Pro-Cure is a fantastic addition to spice up your jigs.
South Shore Fluking
The South Shore is a little behind, but in a few more weeks we should see some big fluke right in the wash. Reels in the 3000- to 5000-size paired with light rods are a fun way to pass the summer months chasing doormats from the sand. The same bucktail jigs I throw in the Sound are fantastic choices.