Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
Captain Arthur Cortes (@captacortes) of Cortes Outfitters out of NYC reports: “The fishing this week has been great. We have been seeing steady action with striped bass feeding on sand eels and crabs on the flats. Water temps are still low on the ocean side and should keep the fish around. Our fly choice this week is a tan crab pattern, and our top lure is the 9” Drifter Tackle Doc.”
Capt. Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters (@rockfishcharters) out of Queens reports: “Bass fishing is in our typical late June routine: far runs up the East River bouncing from spot to spot while dodging ferries and barges, picking fish at every drop or two. It’s some of the most scenic fishing we do all season, with the Statue of Liberty and NYC waterfront in the background, but also some of the most technical. Strong currents everywhere, really snaggy bottom, and fish that only want to eat at specific stages of the tide are all part of our daily dance. It’s the only bass game in town and we’re pretty dialed in on it. After this weekend we’ll start chasing tuna until switching back to bass for the fall run in October. Book a trip at rockfishcharters.com or call 347-661-4501.”
Captain Kenny of The Angler Fleet (@anglerfleet) out of Port Washington reports: “The fishing in the western Sound has continued to stay rock steady. Stripers are still around in small numbers, keyed in on bunker with some of the fish lockjawed on smaller baits like sand eels and grass shrimp. The fluke fishing has been picking up as the days go by. There is definitely a lack of bait in the area, which has affected the early season bite. But now that the fish are leaving the shallows and moving into 10–20’ of water, there are fish around to pick. Summer is about to go into full swing and there are still fish around to keep the lines tight!”
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Capt. Stu Paterson of Northport Charters (@northportcharters) reports: “Kids Summer Fishing Camp started off on fire on Monday. We were targeting stripers with live baits and we released a 20-pounder, 26-pounder, and 40-pound cow bass. Twelve-year-old camper Teddy caught the 40 and realized he just threw back a fish of a lifetime—great time! Lots of over-slot stripers in LI Sound now, but it’s getting very hard to find a slot fish lately. With the larger stripers around and not many porgies around yet, captains are wondering whether, in order for the striped bass biomass to sustain itself, they are eating lots of porgies and other juvenile game fish. Michael and the boys had an outstanding bite Wednesday afternoon with all throwback stripers to 25 lbs. Drags were screaming and big smiles with tired arms all around at end of trip! Picking away at porgy and fluke, but that bite should improve as July is around the corner! Call or text 631-707-3266 today for reservations or go to northportcharters.com.”
Andrew Bernat (@tactical_bassin26) reports: “The eastern tip of Long Island continues to deliver some of the best striped bass action in the Northeast as large bodies of migratory fish slide through. Over the last several weeks, fishing has been nothing short of exceptional, with quality bass feeding aggressively. A significant portion of the biomass has been keyed in on squid, making proper lure selection and presentation critical. Anglers targeting larger fish have found tremendous success fishing soft plastics through the rips. One standout for me has been the 8-inch NLBN straight tail in white rigged on a 1- to 1½-ounce jig head. This setup provides enough weight to maintain bottom contact in the current while still allowing the lure to glide naturally through the strike zone. The key has been making an uptide cast, allowing the lure to sink, and then working it with a slow, controlled retrieve that keeps it moving naturally with the current. When bass push squid schools to the surface, calling the action explosive is an understatement. During these feeding events, the Go Deep Montauk Bar Breaker in white and pink has been a top producer. Retrieved quickly across the surface, this lure perfectly imitates fleeing squid and often draws violent, explosive strikes from fish competing in the blitz. Despite the abundance of bait, there have been periods when the bass become extremely selective. During these situations, downsizing presentations can make a dramatic difference. Many anglers have found success switching to smaller 2- to 3-inch profiles that closely resemble juvenile butterfish, a forage fish that has become increasingly prevalent around Montauk over the last few weeks. Often, matching the size and behavior of the dominant bait has been the deciding factor between getting bit or not.”
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports: “Locally, there are still stripers in the area, but they are pushing out into deeper water. The larger fish have finally moved east and are starting to clear out of the area. There are still mackerel and bunker around, with bunker schools pushing into Northport and Huntington Bay. Nighttime is the right time with the amount of daytime boat traffic, so a night session is your best bet. There are also a couple of schools of small cocktail bluefish around. The fluke fishing has finally picked up, and there are tons of fluke, although most are shorts. Guys are getting keepers; you just have to stick it out.”
Captain Doug Touback of Corazon Fishing Charters (@corazonfishing) out of Freeport reports: “Sea bass continue to dominate the bottom fishing scene, and size matters. We have been on some jumbos! We are continuing to shark as well, with that bite starting to improve.”
Nick Cherkas (@surfcasting_the_island) reports: “Fluke fishing on the inside remains consistent as water temps show a gradual upward trend while striped bass continue to move out. The lack of bluefish this spring has been concerning, but the variety in bottom fishing has compensated for this void. A variety of cut bait, spearing, or rigs tipped with Gulp on a 3-way or hi-lo remain standard. On the outside, threshers have made their presence known along with sand tigers and brown sharks in the mix. Find the bunker, find the fish. If willing to make the venture out, local reefs are holding subpar sea bass taken on clams. This next moon, I suspect the bottom fishing as well as offshore bite will pick up.”
Bill Falco (@chasingtailsbait) of Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports: “Bass are still lurking locally, Montauk has some great fishing, and the North Shore is on fire. Fluke action is heating up with this weather, weakfish are chilling along with them and bluefish are showing up in packs. Reef and wreck action is going well, especially if you go real far. Crab traps are going in the water and everyone is excited for summer! For bass, they’re holding in the rips and inlets locally and they are all over bucktails and swimbaits. Darters and bottle plugs are pulling fish out in Montauk, and the North Shore fish are inhaling bucktails, topwater spooks, and soft plastic swimbaits. Fluke and weakfish reports are getting better as the weather warms up. Find those proper slopes and holes and drop down a small jig for the weaks. Fluke are chasing bait and big presentations—go for the 5- and 6-inch Gulps. The local reefs and wrecks are holding some solid sea bass and ling—head further for bigger ones and even further (to the canyons) for some killer tilefish action. We are starting to sell lots of crab traps, including our commercial-grade, handmade crab hotels and suitcases. Snappers and cocktail blues are starting to show face around the local docks, and the kids are all over them.”
Aqualina Charters (@aqualinacharters) out of Moriches Bay reports: “Fluking continues to slowly improve. Really have to work for your keepers. Lots of bait around. Tons of cocktail blues keeping the rods bent.”
Capt. Pete Douma (@doum_flies) of Windward Outfitters out of Montauk reports: “Maybe the best week yet of big fish we have had all year. The south side of Montauk and rips east of the Point are holding some massive fish right now. While we are seeing massive blitzes, the bulk of the action is pretty steady surface explosions as these giant bass chase squid. Whether you make long drifts and cast directly at these riding fish or blind cast topwater, you’re going to get hit. Incoming water has been best, but there are fish on the outgoing as well. Any large fly pattern seems to work well, especially if thrown behind a teasing plug, but blind casting with floating lines has also proved really effective. As far as lures, Super Snax and Albie Snax XL are tough to beat. Bucktailing or sinking is always good if they aren’t showing either. Check the giant schools of sand eels on the slack too. The bass have largely been leaving them alone, but the mackerel, porgies, dogfish, etc. that feed on them have been getting blown up by big fish. Plenty of blues and some smaller bass are filling in as well.”
Captain Tim O’Rourke of Montauk Point Fly Fishing reports: “This season has been phenomenal. The fishing has been epic for large fish over the last two months. The fly bite in Montauk has been unreal, with fish so close to home I haven’t needed to run far. That said, I’m excited to fish for tuna!”
The Author’s Experience
This past week I fished with Captain Pete Douma out of Montauk. The action was spectacular. Douma put on a fly fishing clinic, crushing fish on big changer-style flies. The fish splattered the surface and column. As the birds collected, the fish obliged by rushing the surface on squid and butterfish. The lures that did the most damage were the Surface Freak, Doc, and Albie Snax/Super Snax. Each cast I watched as hordes of striped bass chased and smoked my plugs. I’m certainly feeling gratitude for this epic year I’ve had thus far!
Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast
Things are starting to heat up in the fluke department. It’s certainly been a head-scratching year. For one reason or another, we just haven’t seen numbers like we’re used to seeing, which is a bit scary. By now we should see plenty of giant fluke caught! The good news is I’m hearing reports of short fluke finally being caught consistently in the Sound. As Mark at Cow Harbor put it, you have to weed through the shorts to get rewarded. As always, bucktails, Stack Tackle jigs, Gulp, and Pro-Cure will be in my bag.
As for bass, the bite is red hot in the eastern Sound. Yes, there are plenty of fish out west, but the biomass of fish is truly in the east and they are HUGE. Bucktails, flutter spoons, glides, poppers—you name it, it’s catching. The fish are gorging on mackerel, squid, butterfish, and bunker. It’s been one for the books. That said, what troubles me is the skewed demographics; I haven’t seen many smaller fish this year. In the surf fishing department, the bite has slowed a ton on the North and South Shores—it’s all about Montauk and the eastern Sound. Bodies of fish are moving around; it’s feast or famine from shore. Nighttime is the right time. I’d recommend carrying Super Strike darters, Mag Darters, metal lips, and needlefish.
Porgy action is hot in Peconic with plenty of whoppers on rock piles, jetties, and boulder fields. Hi-lo rigs with clams will do the trick!
On the tuna front, my prediction is that we see an explosion of tuna on the South Shore and Montauk the first week of July. It’s a great time to stock up on jigs, poppers, and spreader bars. As a reminder, you can keep two—yes TWO—fish from 27″ to less than 73″ per day (or trip) as a rec vessel with an HMS permit.