Eastern L.I. / Suffolk County Fishing Report

• Albies invade the east end. Bluefish and mackerel blitzes might trick you, but keep after them.
• Weakfish bite continues to impress.
• Huge numbers of tuna offshore.
• Hundreds of sharks swarm the surf.
• Striper bite picks up more every day.

• Looking for the Western L.I. and NYC fishing report? Click here to read what’s happening in Nassau, Kings and Queens counties!

Captree’s Laura Lee reports:

We sailed at 7:01 today for sea bass, albacore, bonito and tuna. We ended up catching 290 sea bass, 12 fluke to 6.5 pounds, 350 big scup, 55 mackerel, 1 bonita, 6 ling and 2 bluefish. The 1p trip caught 6 fluke, 45 sea bass, 2 blues, 1 porgy and 18 sea robins. The 6pm expresss caught 296 sea bass, 87 porgies, 298 mackerel and 52 bluefish.

The Monday 7:01 trip sounds amazing. 16 anglers caught 414 big sea bass (full boat limit), 23 tuna, 47 bonito, 32 big porgies, 6 fluke, 32 mackerel, 2 bluefish, 15 cunner, 1 sea robin and 1 big ling. The 6pm trip caught 11 weakfish, 2 stripers, 1 fluke and 12 sea bass.

Weakfish have been a bit of a mainstay on those evening trips. Some other fun species came up throughout the week, like toadfish, pollock, stargazer, kingfish and puffers.

Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:

The summer is winding down, air temps are cooler, and the water is starting to cool down too. This break in weather is triggering bites all over the island. The striper reports are coming in HOT from the north shore, and out way east in Montauk. The fall run of bass has begun, and it’s only going to get better from here. Schools of spearing, peanut bunker, and sandeels are here getting slurped up by hungry bass. Our fall run should be even better than the spectacular spring we had. 

Fluke and weakfish are in thick, with some great numbers and sizes reported. Weakfish are running the tides and crushing little jigs. Anything pink, red, or purple will get their attention. White and chartreuse work very well also. Consistent reports of keeper fluke, with some fish over 20 inches are coming in. Bucktails with a piece of Gulp! or a Fat Cow strip hanging off the back have been getting chomped on by bigger fluke. The ocean is holding some solid flatties out on the reef as well. Size up your jig and plastic, or drop down a shop rig with a fat spearing and strip of squid. Sea bass are out there too, in some really impressive sizes. Fat knuckleheads are smashing bucktails and epoxy jigs, as well as shop rigs with some big chunks of clam. 

Little bluefish are getting bigger and bigger every week, some solid cocktails are out running the flats, along with a million of their little snapper brothers. Those yellow eyed demons are on their timing. The docks are loaded up with them as well. Blowfish and kingfish are around in some wild numbers and sizes! Any local dock should be holding them, and they are all over the bay as well. Offshore, the tuna bite is red hot. Bigeye, bluefin and mondo yellowfin are out patrolling the grounds. In close the yellowfin are big and tough, as well as plentiful! Out deep, the eyeballs and bluefin are doing their thing. Deep jigs and trolling rigs are getting the job done. 

The heat is … GONE! Morning and evening bites in the sweetwater have been crazy! Bass and pickerel have been going off on topwater lures and moving baits. Swimbaits, crankbaits, and inline spinners are getting demolished as bass and pickerel are out on the hunt for baitfish. Trout action has gotten significantly better as the water temps dip into a more comfortable zone for them. Streamers are always good, and dry dropper rigs work especially well right now. Sunfish and perch are schooled up and eager to eat worms and little jigs.

Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters reports: 

“We’ve had some outstanding catches lately. Right before the full moon, we had an LI Sound grand slam: keeper striper, bluefish, black sea bass, fluke and porgy on a full day trip. Joe D. and the boys came out for his bachelor party and had an unforgettable outing. The birds were going crazy, and bass and blues were crushing peanuts and spearing on the surface.

We’re still catching nice big porgies, sea bass and fluke. As long as the bait’s here and the wind stays down, we will have an outstanding fall run. We’re still seeing tinker mackerel in the local waters, which is another plus.” Call/text Stu at 631-707-3266 or check out Stu’s website to book a trip: northportcharters.com.

The Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Port Jefferson reports:

“There are piles of scup on the bottom, with some quality sea bass hidden among them. Blues and stripers kept some of our anglers busy on the evening trips. Quality weakfish were biting on the moving tides during the day, and we pulled up one monster northern kingfish earlier in the week. The Coram Volunteer Firefighters joined us for some fishing, and each person was fortunate to bring home a mixed bag of scup, sea bass, and weakfish.” Call them at 631-928-3926 for booking info.

Capt. Phil of Fishy Business in Orient reports:

“Blackfish season begins on 10/11, and we have open dates available for charter.” They sail out of Duryea’s in Orient. Give Phil a call to book a trip: 516-316-6967.

Surfcasting guide Bernie Bass found more of the same in the surf this week. There was a decent pick of small bass throughout the week on soft plastics, with some murky water moving in mid-week to hinder the fishing potential. Bait is everywhere, and the fishing is only going to get better.

The Shinnecock Star in Hampton Bays reports:

“Skinny water fluking has been good as ever this week. We’ll keep on hitting them back there until they are gone. The bite two days ago was nonstop.

Eddie Shores worked a homemade bucktail tipped with a fluke ribbon to pick some good fluke and a triggerfish the other day. Fluke ribbon has been a perfect approach, because blowfish have been chewing through the spearing and artificials. ” Call Capt. John for trip info and reservations: 631-728-4563.

Bill Wetzel of the Surf Rats Ball reports:

“This Monday’s trip with Pete started slow on the north side of Montauk Point, so we tried our luck on the south side. Pete picked a half dozen schoolies on a 1.5 ounce bucktail in about 3-5 foot waves. The fish were super riled up. After dark, they tried the Point again. Pete got one strong hit on a white Gibbs bottle, and that was all she wrote.

Jim made it to Montauk for his fifth time ever surfcasting the Mecca. The first night was a skunk, but 9/9 would produce one keeper bass and cocktail bluefish. The keeper ate a tin in the morning, with a teaser ahead of it. The next day, he found some more schoolies in the late morning. He tried chunking the next night in town, and picked a fluke and a stingray.” Subscribe today at www.longislandsurffishing.com.

Chris Albronda from Montauk reports:

“It was another insane week of fishing off Montauk. The surfcasters saw some slot sized stripers this week during those full moon tides. Bottom fishing is as good as it gets. The Miss Montauk has been doing a number on the fluke. There have been limits to go around for everyone, and the opportunity for a double digit doormat is realer than ever. Black Sea bass and porgy fishing are also pretty insane. If you’re booking the Miss Montauk, tell them Chris sent you.

Offshore, the yellowfin and bluefin are chewing real well. The mahi mahi bite has also been very productive.”

Give Chris a call at 631-830-3881 to book a trip. 

Montauk’s Viking Fleet reports:

“Ida Gordon picked our pool winner yesterday with a 4 pound porgy. We picked some monsters off Block Island, alongside some keeper fluke and cod. Some nice sea bass also mixed up the bag. Tuesday we found the fish in deeper water, about 100 feet. Keith Watson took the edible pool with an 8 pound cod. 8 other cod came up, and so did 6 keeper fluke.

We did some striper fishing around the full moon this weekend. We had a lot of bass in the keeper range once the tide started cranking. We had one short and one over that we threw back. The night prior was a bit slower, but we still put some good bass on the boat to 18 pounds.” Call the office to book at 631-668-5700, or book online at vikingfleet.com.

• Looking for the Western L.I. and NYC fishing report? Click here to read what’s happening in Nassau, Kings and Queens counties!

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain on Long Island!

Eastern Long Island Fishing Forecast

September is amazing. It’s storm season. The storms deliver swells, creating waves. An offshore wind cleans up those waves and makes them barrel beautifully. The storm swell we received this week did just that, and a short-lived northwest wind created the most perfect wave I’ve seen in at least ten years. That was a beautiful sight.

I had to wear a sweatshirt two mornings ago as I watched that pristine wave break. The juicy looking surf and the cool air temps seemed to promise me a striper if I’d just spend enough time fishing.  I couldn’t stay though; work was calling. Fortunately, my summer work is over, and this season’s chores can be completed in a more relaxed manner. Some of it requires teamwork though, so at least a few hours every day are devoted to the grind. However, once the fish start calling, work takes a backseat.

I know a lot of you laboring folks can relate to that. Surfboards and surf rods adorn many of the work trucks at beachfront construction sites. Once the bass blitzes begin, I watch those worksites empty on to the beach, their attending tradesmen pursuing the marine passersby. What a wonderful time and place. That’s coming soon.

This past week was like the great wait. It feels like a cloud’s been slowly filling, teetering on the brink of bursting. Fish are present, and they’re making quick, explosive appearances here and there. Any day now, the cloud will burst open entirely, and the hotspots will be flooded with blitzing fish. I’ve seen cocktail bluefish blitzing on anchovies in the inlet a couple days this week. Bass are feeding in the early morning and at night. Weakfish are chewing heavily in the back bays. Albies came in heavy in Montauk real quick, and a few have been caught at the inlets. The low light bites are becoming daytime blitzes this month. 

My excitement is in line with the animals’. I can feel our energy increasing in synchrony as we watch each tide pass. Every day there are more birds in the air looking down and more anglers on the beach casting out. It’s fishing season for all the coastal creatures.

So, two days ago… I get to work, and I do my work. The day prior, there had been a report of midday blitzes. I’d head back to the inlet after lunch for that potential bite. Of course, there was absolutely nothing exciting occurring in the current at that time. I was half-expecting that letdown, as the action at the beginning of the fall run tends to be inconsistent (especially the albies). I made moves to the oceanfront and saw some bunker schools not too far from the beach. After wetting a line for a bit with no feedback, I spotted the spout of a whale. I ran to exchange my rod for my drone; I’ve had a nice shot in my mind for some time, and I would capture it today. 

I didn’t realize I would be getting a few of my best drone shots ever during that flight. For the next hour and a half, I flew above the bunker schools about 80-120 yards off the beach, just behind the breaking waves. A few whales passed through to feed on them in that time.

That was awesome, but it got even cooler when I noticed large groups of spinner sharks that were perusing the schools. There were well over 100 sharks visible from the air, in this small stretch of beach. You could even see them breaching from the water as they ran through the schools. The cherry on top was a giant bluefin tuna that swam right up to the break, about 60 yards from the beach. I thought it was going to attack the bunker that were hanging there, but it turned away last second… I reckon it was because of the dozen sharks that swam out from under that bunker school towards the tuna immediately after. Before my flight was done, 28 or more of the sharks had formed one large school and were on the hunt.

It still seems surreal, but I have some incredible footage to show for it. I’ll be putting some of that footage online in the next couple days. Keep your eyes peeled.

It might be tough to find time to edit a lot of that footage though. I’m getting some good reports in as I write this, and developing some serious FOMO as a result. I’ll be spending a lot of time on the rocks and the beach this week. I’m expecting to be able to capture some more exciting footage, hopefully of some albies and other gamefish.

That’s my goal this week: footage of the fish, and catches of the fish.

Whatever your goal is, go out and achieve it. Tight lines.