Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports: “Local guys are still doing well on striped bass. The fish are definitely keyed in on live bait like spot and eels. Porgy fishing from shore is hot in shallow water on sandworms and clams. Additionally, snappers just moved in!”
Captain Stu of Northport Charters (@northportcharters) reports: “We had an amazing week with the kids at my summer fishing camp. We bent the rods with some beautiful stripers, fluke, porgies, weakfish, and, of course, sea robins and big dogfish mixed in. Charters have been busy pulling in more over-slot stripers on live baits, along with some slot fish over the rail. The porgy and fluke bite is starting to improve, with smiles all around. Stripers were slamming butterfish on top for several charters this week; Aima and Dennis caught some beautiful stripers to 30 pounds, along with some short fluke. They were both brand-new anglers and loved catching stripers and fluke—now they’re hooked for life. Call or text 631-707-3266 or visit northportcharters.com.”
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Captain Jess Rogers of Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reported: “Fluke fishing continues to be excellent with loads of shorts keeping rods bent and plenty of keepers mixed in. Lots of limits were had over the course of the week with fish to 9-pounds taken. Fishing should remain good as the water warms and the fish flood out of the bay.”
Bill Falco of Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle (@chasingtailsbait) in Oakdale reports: “Fluke action has finally become consistent, with tons of shorts to catch and keep the fun going, and a few quality fish to take home. Drop one of our shop rigs down with some bait or the soft plastic of your choice, and you’ll be on ’em! Fish light, and fish bright. The same goes for the weakfish that are around. Some finesse may be needed, so scale down your offering and brighten it up. Sea bass and porgies are chilling on the reefs and wrecks outside. They’re all over the jigs and, of course, love some fresh bait. The tuna bite has been incredible! They’re smashing poppers and jigs like crazy and going nuts for side trackers. We’re fully stocked with Chatter Lures and Madd Mantis plugs. The kids are out and about going for all the crabs and snappers, plus cocktail-sized blues ripping around the local docks. Clamming has been popular too—a great opportunity to get in the water and enjoy the outdoors.”
Aqualina Charters (@aqualinacharters) out of Moriches Bay reports: “The last couple of trips have produced quality keepers to 24-inches and up to 6 pounds. Fishing in the bay on the right part of the tide with good conditions has been very productive, and when we have nice ocean conditions, we’ve had good fish outside on the local grounds as well. It should only get better in the coming weeks, and we’ll be going on some longer-range trips too.”
Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters (@rockfishcharters) out of Moriches reports: “Our tuna season is in full swing on the Rockfish, and we’ve been covering a lot of ground looking for different classes of fish depending on our charter’s wishlist. There is a good giant bite to the east with an incredible amount of whales and sea life that makes for a great show even when the fishing is slow. From huge schools of squid chasing sand eels on the surface to massive bubble feeds all around, everyone stays busy jigging squid and macks in between bites. Closer to our inlet, 40- to 55-inch bluefin have set up nicely, and we’ve been trolling our limit early before switching over to jigging once the surface feeds die down. We’re all booked up for July but have some August through October dates left. See our full schedule and book a trip at rockfishcharters.com or call 347-661-4501.”
Captain Scott Worth out of Greenport reports: “We’ve been focused the last few weeks on the midshore bluefin bite using light tackle. Bluefin have been blitzing on small sand eels, and it took sizing down to small soft plastics like the Joe Baggs Miracle Minnow to get bites from fish measuring 30 to 55 inches. Before the latest blow, there were signs of fish starting to set up around the ample mammal life and eat jigs, so we’re hoping it blows wide open during this next weather window.”
Captain Rob Lehnert of North Fork Adventures Charters (@northforkadventurescharters) out of Southold reports: “Fishing was kind of slow in Peconic Bay this past week. We’ve had some nasty storms come through, and with the bay all churned up, the fishing gets difficult. We’ve caught some porgies and a few keeper weakfish, but nothing like the week before with better weather.”
From the east end, Captain Desmond Scanlan reports: “Despite 15-knot winds and 5-foot seas, we pushed off with a north wind at our back, heading 11 miles to a spot where guys saw giant bluefin feeding earlier in the week. We arrived to shearwaters, dolphin pods, and a machine lit up with bait, immediately doubling over the dead-sticked squid rod while setting a live bluefish 60 feet down off the bow. Right as we unhooked the squid, the bow rod started dumping, but after a 20-minute battle, the fish chafed us off. The next six hours were a tough grind as life dissipated—we only picked a few mackerel on the drift—until 11 a.m., when the wind finally laid down, letting us locate where the feed had moved in 140 feet of water. We re-rigged with fresh 220-pound fluoro to put the heat on the next one, got a bluefish out off the bow, dropped a mackerel to the bottom, and while trying to dodge getting bitten by a live squid, the down rod started screaming. Knowing we had a heavy leader, we bumped the drag past strike, fought it for 20 minutes, and I was able to get a clean dart shot into a proper 86-incher. Stoked to head back to the barn after an incredible first trip on the Sea Doll!”
Capt. Pete Douma (@doum_flies) of Windward Outfitters out of Montauk reports: “It really feels like summer in Montauk now. Most of the striper boats have moved to other targets. Bluefish have been holding nicely in shallow water, with porgies, sea bass, and fluke littering the bottom. There are still some bass around, but it can be a tough pick—even harder when you consider the sharks around. Giant tuna have been seen to the east as well as close to the sandy beaches, terrorizing the resident squid. The midshore grounds are finally starting to set up. Plenty of really good surface feeds, but we’re also starting to see a good jig bite.”
The Author’s Experience
This past weekend and early this week, I had the pleasure of hitting the bluefin tuna grounds near Montauk on two different occasions.
On Saturday, I fished with On The Water‘s own Nick Cancelliere and Liam O’Neill, and my good friend Andrew Bernat. As we approached the bluefin grounds, everyone was apprehensive and quiet. On high alert, I began scanning around when, out of the corner of my eye, I locked onto surface explosions. I started screaming and pinned the boat at 45 miles per hour directly toward the feed. As I slowed down, everyone grabbed a rod and started hucking casts into the blitz.
On the second cast, Nick hooked up on a big popper. He quickly gave the fish the business, setting the hook multiple times. As the driver, I was naturally the anchor, so I grabbed a rod rigged with a small RonZ and hurled it into the feed. I began burning it and twitching it when the line stopped. Within seconds, I hit the fish five times, and the spunky rec tuna went on a blistering run. I held on as Nick’s fish began pinwheeling underneath the boat. A minute later, his fish hit the deck!
As I fought my fish, the feeds intensified, with tuna blitzing just 100 feet from the boat. After an eight-minute battle, we stuck my fish, cleaned up the deck, and packed the twin tunas into my fish box. Next, we began marking fish in the water column. The rec tuna stood no chance. By 10 a.m., we had landed and released four more fish, totaling six for the day.
Fast forward to Monday, when Capt. Pete Douma of Windward Outfitters invited me out for a session on his 23-foot Pathfinder. If you know Douma, you know he’s one fishy guy.
As we approached the last spot where I had found the tuna, we were greeted by quick, up-and-down surface-feeding fish. Fly rod in hand, we began surveying the area, and as sunrise turned to 6 a.m., the feeds intensified. While we were able to get in front of some feeds, the fish were always one step ahead, advancing out of range every time they surfaced.
After grinding it out on the fly for a while, I switched to the Clobber Company Surface Freak, an 11-inch, nose-rigged, spook-style lure. On my first cast, I was followed by a large 70-inch-class fish. It was certainly a harrowing moment. Then, at approximately 7 a.m., we found the perfect feed. I cast precisely into the center, twitched it a few times, and a 44-inch fish absolutely smoked the plug. Within minutes, we had another fish in the box.
Next, we switched back to fly, and I began driving Douma around to different feeds. While we never came tight, the fish stayed hot on the surface. By 9 a.m., the feeds disappeared, and we moved a few miles away. For the next few hours, we cast around whales and dolphins with no luck. As we repositioned again, I watched a tuna rager come together off my hard left. For the next hour and change, Douma and I chased feed after feed on fly and spin gear with no luck. These fish were technical.
Once the feeds finally died out, we began circling the area looking for the next patch of fish. With the surface activity over, we found an afternoon jig bite around a whale. Fun-sized rec fish began piling up off the bottom as we drifted a few hundred feet away. Bouncing bottom rewarded us with three more fish and a few additional hits.
All things considered, both outings were pretty epic!
Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast
As I’ve said before, we’re in the doldrums of summer. Inshore fishing is slowing down, but the fluke bite is getting better, as evidenced by Northport Charters’ and Aqualina Charters’ recent success. It’s a great time to hit the beach with scented soft plastics and jigheads. A 4000-size reel paired with a medium-light rod is the move. Three great options are Z-Man plastics paired with Pro-Cure, Sea-Funk plastics produced by Bluff Lures, and Gulp. For jigheads, the skirted Screwy Heads from Stack Tackle are a great choice because you can easily swap the heads to adjust your jig weight.
As for offshore fishing, the inshore tuna bite is hot. Fish can be found around whales and dolphins!