North Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Despite the unseasonably warm weather we are experiencing this week, the Island is seeing some really solid action as we make our way into November. Captain Mark of the Celtic Quest out of Port Jefferson saw a picky blackfish bite on the full moon with activity centered around the change of tides as the water was not running as hard. However, things began to look up later in the week as we got further away from the moon and conditions were more favorable. Overall, Captain Mark said things were looking pretty good despite the high 62 degree water temperatures for the first week in November. John at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park said the shop has weighed in some quality 8 to 9 pound tog this week from local waters, but anglers are having to put in a lot of time for the keepers as shorts are much more prevalent. Sea bass are mixing in on many trips, and there are still a few porgy around if you switch to clam baits.
Stripers lit up the beaches from east of Smithtown Bay through Eatons Neck, according to John at Terminal Tackle. Many schoolie sized fish along with a few keepers and blues in the mix raided the shores chasing small bunker this week, and boaters were also able to find them blitzing under feeding birds. Throwing diamond jigs or leadheads tipped with bass assassins are very effective, but keep the lures small as they are chasing small baits. Fisherman are also pursuing squid from Mount Sinai to Huntington Harbor.
South Shore Long Island Fishing Report
Bottom fishing is picking up with plenty of action to keep everyone busy from one side of the South Shore to the other. Anglers that headed out to the 25 mile wreck were rewarded with a good number of both sea bass and cod, according to Joe at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon. Bryce from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays added that the local wrecks to the south of Shinnecock Inlet gave up both tog and sea bass, and the Rockaway Reef to the west did the same on green and white crabs, according to Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside.
Robert from Sea Isle Tackle in Amityville reported killer bass fishing locally with many techniques working in their respective areas. Trolling east and west of Jones Inlet resulted in stripers into the upper 30’s, and eels inside the Inlet and clam bellies at the bridges are yielding a number of quality fish as well. Bay Park received reports of limits of bass to 27 pounds along with a multitude of gorilla bluefish in the waters between Jones Inlet to the Rockaway Reef, and fish to 30 pounds were also found in Jamaica Bay feeding on top which were caught using diamond jigs, surface poppers, and bucktails. It seems to be a bit pickier as you head east with Bryce at White Water saying you need to be in the right place at the right time to find bass. When you are where the fish are, the action is very good, but being in the wrong spot can prove to be quite the struggle. Bryce suggested that if you are not running into bass in one area, try setting up down the beach a little until you find them. On the offshore front, the Hudson Canyon was reportedly red hot this week with both yellowfin and bigeye.
Metro Long Island Fishing Report
The tog action on the local wrecks and structure in both shallow and deep water is great despite the vast majority of the fish falling below keeper size, according to John at Hudson Park Bait & Tackle in New Rochelle. However, putting the time in and moving around to different areas when you cannot get away from small fish can pay off immensely as the shop weighed in tog to 12 pounds on occasion this week. On the south end, Frank at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in Brooklyn said the boat guys are generally doing well at the Reef, but again anglers are having to pick through the shorts for a few quality blackfish. On the sea bass and porgy fronts, it seems that they are broadly heading offshore; however, a few could still be mixed in on the structure, and Stretch at Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in Brooklyn reported some scup lingering out at the Fisherman Buoy.
Frank at Bernie’s told us that locally the bass fishing is good overall. The action is very spread out where anglers are not running into them every time they head out, but will come across a school if they search enough for them. Trolling during the day has accounted for stripers in the 25 to 35 pound class anywhere from the Breezy Point Jetty to the Ambrose Channel, and Stretch from Stella Maris added that drifting eels in the same areas can yield similar action at night. Anglers seem to be finding blues on the smaller end mixed in with the bass schools, but larger 13 to 14 pounders are running in schools consisting exclusively of bluefish.
East End/North Fork Long Island Fishing Report
On the South Fork, Chase from Montauk Marine Basin in Montauk said sea bass are still hammering away just about everywhere, and Cerberus Shoal is the place to be for boats heading out tog fishing. Locally on the Sound side, Bill at Jamesport Bait & Tackle reported sea bass outside of Mattituck Inlet and blackfish from Horton’s Point east to Orient. However, many boats are making the trip out to Fishers Island where the action is a bit more consistent with higher probabilities of keepers. Naturalist Logbook columnist Chris Paparo went blackfishing aboard the Nancy Ann IV out of Orient Point on Sunday. In tough fishing conditions, fourteen anglers put 40 blackfish to 6 pounds. and 20 sea bass to 4 pounds in the fish box. Eleven year old Justin Amendolia was quite the angler, landing several nice tog.
Steve at Wego Bait & Tackle in Southold reported that the surf fishing on the Sound picked up this week with plentiful numbers of jumbo blues, a decent amount of bass, and even a few straggler albies. Paul of Paulie’s Bait & Tackle in Montauk reported a lot of bass in the high teens to low 20’s showing up recently from the north side and around the Point through the town beaches. It was a daytime bite this week with guys throwing bucktails and plugs, but he had expected some surfcasters to head out there at night and give it a shot as well. Tonya at Westlake Marina in Montauk let us know that the boats are not doing as well on the bass front with many already packing it up for the season.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Seas will be rocking and rolling through Saturday, but should lay down and be more manageable by Sunday. While the scup are fairly nonexistent moving offshore to their winter groups, there are still plenty of sea bass opportunities especially with the Federal season opening back up a few weeks ago. The South Shore and East End are the best places to look for them, although you may still find some mixed in on the North Shore tog grounds. Blackfish catches will continue to improve as we move along throughout November, but as of now you will have to contend with a lot of small fish. Do not let that discourage you though as some structure will undoubtedly give up double digit fish if you put enough time in. It may take you a few readjustments to find the perfect drift, but it could pay off big time if you get it right.
It seems the stripers have finally found the bunker schools as we are starting to see a bit more of a fall run lately with 20 pounders hitting on the North Shore and 30 pounders chasing on the South Shore. Daytime trolling is always a good choice, but you may also get lucky and find blitzing fish under the birds which always makes things more exciting. You can also try surfcasting from the beach with great success, but it might be tedious trying to find the right spot. If you are a night owl, eels should do just fine for quality action.