Long Island - New York Fishing Report -

 

With the opening of fluke season this week and porgies, bass and blues all now present and accounted for, there was no shortage of anglers hitting the water. A mix of strong winds and scattered showers didn’t make it easy but there were still hook ups across the Island. Striper action continues to center mostly around schoolies with a few keepers mixed in for good measure. Big bluefish have been tearing up most of the waters and fluke and porgy action have yielded decent results with a couple weakfish in the mix as well.

Stretch from Stella Maris spoke of great fishing this past week with big bluefish in the Lower Bay area near Kingsborough Community College. These huge blue torpedoes have been hitting bunker, tins, chunks and poppers and birds are working the schools. There have been stripers in these waters, too, as well as in Jamaica Bay, attacking live-lined bunker. Some fluke have also been pulled off Flint Neck with some nice keepers hitting the deck.

Mark from Bay Park Fishing Station and Captain Nick from the charter boat No Time have seen a lot of small bass around, with a couple keepers grabbing baits as well. Clam-chumming around the Atlantic Beach Bridge, Breezy Point and inside the Verrazano Bridge have been the most productive spots. There has been good action of big bluefish, some pushing double digits, in Raritan Bay and from the beaches in the local area.

Another route worth a try for bass and blues is to step aboard the Jib VI with Capt. Joe out of Captree. Capt. Joe has seen consistent striper action with 15 to 20 fish a trip tallying five to 10 keepers per trip in Captree and Great South Bay waters. He has also seen a promising start to fluke season with enough of a bite to keep him making a morning and afternoon trip in addition to the a night run for bass and blues.

Phil from Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle has continued to see strong action from schoolie bass on plastics and lures. There have been bigger bass on bunker and on spoons in Cold Spring Harbor. The bite has been best early on the tides. There has been active fishing with porgies from the beach and boat, as well as an early jump on fluke. Most of the action for fluke has been just out of the harbor and near the local bridges.

Robert from Sea Isle Tackle heard of a 5-pound fluke being taken out of South Oyster Bay on Tuesday. He explained that the fluke fishing didn’t get off to a hot start but at least there were some good fish taken. The fluke were hitting best on the old reliable squid and spearing combination. He also told of hot action with bass and blues in the area. The bass have been slamming both trolled Mojo rigs and bunker. The bluefish will hit just about anything you throw at this time as they are big, aggressive and numerous.

Weakfish have continued to pop-up every once in a while as Brenden from Captree Bait Shop reports a 9-pounder coming ashore this past week. The weakfish bite seems to be doing especially well off of Ocean Beach with the fish hitting anything pink. There was enough of a fluke bite over the first few days of the season to keep anglers busy with Gulp grubs and spearing/squid strip combos the top offerings. Reports of a lot of small bass and one up to 25-pounds taken this week from Captree came in as well as solid porgy and sea bass.

Further east on the Island, Ed from Warren’s Tackle tells of fluke being caught on Peconic Bay with one hitting the scales at 7-pounds. There was a busy mix of sea robins porgies and blues to go along with the summer flatties, plus some blues exceeding 10-pounds and putting up a satisfying fight.

Steve at Wego Fishing says that in the Southold area, porgies are the best bet. The size of these scup have been monstrous with the smallest on Steve saw about 2-pounds. There was good fishing for bass in Jessops Bay on the incoming tide as well as in the Gut. The big bluefish are still present snatching up diamond jigs along with any bait that crosses their path. The fluke fishing was good, but tough to work through the sea robins.

In Hampton Bays, Rich at White Water Outfitters reports some of the same with the crazy porgy action. He also tells of respectable fluke fishing with a reported 10-pounder leading the charge. There have been weakfish decked this week, one up to 30-inches with most measuring in at 20-25-inches. These and stripers have been in the Shinnicock Canal. There was a big school of bass just off the Jeti last week with a ton of fish pushing 20-30-inches.

At Montauk Marine Basin, Chase has seen slower action than the western end of the Island.  There are a good number of short fluke and bass around but doesn’t seem to be in full swing as of yet. The bass have been caught best when trolling bunker spoons or Mojo rigs through rips, though there have been a few keepers taken from the local Montauk beaches.

Chris from Gone Fishing Marina states that scup fishing is the way to go for best action as well. There have been a few keeper fluke he’s seen weighing from  2-6-pounds. Most of these fish have been hooked on the south side of Montauk. There are however, a ton of bluefish being seen there with impressive size. They may not be taking over the waters but they are always worth the work if your looking for a good fight.

In the Staten Island waters, Joe from Staten Island Tuna Club spoke of bluefish and stripers going crazy, with the Statue of Liberty being the hottest area. Bass up to 40-pounds have been hauled aboard and 20-pound bluefish are being caught regularly. The kayak fishermen have been doing great as well. Since the recent start of fluke season they have been getting into a range of keepers in the Princess Bay waters with consistent action.

For the final salt water report, Ray from Paulies in Montauk has not seen many keepers of any species. There are a huge amount of shorts both for bass and fluke in the surrounding waters, however if your looking to fill the cooler, its been off to a slower start. As with most of Long Island, there are blues around on the north side beaches grabbing bunker chunks and fluke baits soaking on the bottom.

On the freshwater, Paul from River Bay Outfitters tells that the Connetquot river has sustained action for fly fishermen. They were there on Monday and although it was windy and cold, a steady picking of trout was available all day. Hempsted State Lake is also producing well with pickerel and blue gills. These fish have been hitting well on small spinners and dry flies alike. This is a great lake to bring beginner fishermen as you can catch just as well from shore as you can from a boat. The Saturday before Father’s Day, Paul will be holding a free fishing contest with multiple prizes. Visit his website for more information at www.riverbayoutfitters.com.

Fishing Forecast for Long Island – New York

With fluke season finally underway and warm weather in this weeks forecast, now is the time to get on some big summer flatties. Porgy fishing has also been impressive with every day seemingly bringing bigger fish and as the keeper stripers continue to work their way across the Island, you never know when you might hook into a monster.