Suffolk County / Eastern L.I. Fishing Report
- Huge stripers all over the south shore, for both boats and surfcasters.
- Tog season starts strong on the north shore. Lots of fish in shallow.
- Yellowfin chunk bite is productive.
- Albie run continues to produce, as of this morning.
- Big bluefish on the north shore.
- Scup and sea bass remain productive.
Captree Bait and Tackle reports:
Andrew closed out the fluke season with a serious fish to start the week. He was on the Capture Fishfinder, and picked a 9.6 pounder. Jacqueline Molina got out to catch some nice stripers almost immediately after the storm passed. We have entry forms for the South Shore Classic in the shop. $20 to compete. We also have bunker for $2 a piece, or 6 for $10.
Captree’s Laura Lee reports:
Big striped bass to 42 pounds came over the rail last night. We kept 15 and released 7. The 7am trip caught 4 stripers, 6 bluefish, 2 weakfish and 61 dogfish. The 1pm trip had 2 stripers and 47 dogfish.
Tuesday, on the other hand, did not see a single striper all day and night. The 7am trip caught 92 sea bass, 14 porgies, 15 dogfish, 3 triggerfish, one fluke and one cunner. The 7:01 trip caught 311 sea bass, 361 porgies, 12 blues, 10 bonito, 7 mackerel, 2 triggerfish, 3 fluke, 4 cunner and 4 sea robins.. The 1pm trip caught 59 sea bass, 20 scup, 4 triggers, 1 tog and 4 cunner. The 6pm trip skunked.
Monday put up pretty much the same results as Tuesday, with 3 blowfish and 1 grunt added to the roster. The final day of fluke season saw a gradual slow down of that bite. The morning saw 46 fluke come over the rail, the afternoon saw 32, and the 6pm had 1 fluke. At 6pm, 13 anglers caught 14 stripers. Big numbers of fish came up on the weekend. Notable catches were the 2 jacks, 2 pinfish, 8 triggerfish and 12 albies that came up on Saturday morning. The same trip saw 524 porgies come over the rail.
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Bill at Chasing Tails Bait and Tackle in Oakdale reports:
The fall run of stripers cracked wide open this week. Bass are everywhere and everyone is on ’em! From the back bays to the ocean, the bite is red hot. In the surf, cow bass up to 40 pounds rolled through this week, eating everything that was thrown at them. Schools of peanut bunker, spearing, and sand eels are hanging out just off the shoreline. Boat guys are having a field day with big fish all afternoon into the evening. Jigs, swim shads, and top water lures have been getting lots of attention. The back bays are flooded with bait and the stripers know it. A few nice fish have been spotted in the bay, chasing around schools of bunker pods on the south side. Albies are still running like mad all over the ocean. Epoxy jigs or the classic Deadly Dick will get chased.
The fall run of weakfish seems to have came and went, only a few smaller fish still lingering for the guys out there targeting them. Hopefully we’ll see another group of fish come in. Sea Bass action on the outside is producing non stop knuckleheads. Big fish are sitting outside, smashing jigs and rigs like mad. Tautog season is officially open on the north shore, and they are having a banger of an opening week. Plenty of nice tog tucked in the structure, crunching on crabs. The south shore season opens on the 15th, and we are fully stocked with crabs, rigs, and jigs.
Get to the lake for some hot bass action this week. The bass are out chasing baitfish looking to get fat, so toss some swimbaits, crankbaits, popping plugs, and buzz baits. Senkos always get the job done too. Pickerel are out looking or a snack as well. They love shiny things and big presentations. Inline spinners, spoons, and swimbaits will lure them in. Perch and Bluegill are schooled up and actively eating all day. A classic worm and bobber rig works wonders and will have them eating cast after cast. If you prefer to use lures, throw some small jigs and tiny swimbaits. The cooler water temps are great for the trout. They’re loving the temperature break and feeding actively through the later daylight hours. Dry flies are getting sipped and nymphs slung down low will entice even a finicky trout.
Surfcasting guide Bernie Bass picked some decent fish in the surf this week. There was a consistent bite of bass, and the bait was abundant on both the north and south shores. Fishing should improve every day.
Ed at Warren’s Tackle Center in Aquebogue reports:
“In the peconics, there are still plenty of porgies for the picking. There’s still some weakfish back there as well, and there are plenty of small bluefish. Striped bass are beginning to show up in the creeks. On the oceanfront, there are some serious stripers in the Shinnecock area. Guys are picking some from the beach. On the Sound side, it’s been spotty so far. The north shore hasn’t really lit up consistently yet. You have to be there when they show up. Reports are scarce on the blackfish front, but it just opened up, so we’re expecting some good reports in the near future. Albie reports have also been scarce.”
The Celtic Quest Fishing Fleet of Mattituck reports:
We began blackfish season fishing shallow. We found life on all drops, with some better than others. George picked out first keeper of the season. There were plenty of porgies available, and the deep sea bass provided us with some nice keepers. Wind tried to mess with us on a few trips, but we found shelter and the fish found us! We even picked a few nice triggerfish. Scup fishing was on fire at the beginning of the week. Some of the kids from Walt Whitman HS came aboard to lay the smack down on porgies. Sea bass fishing was also on fire early on in the week. Call them at (631)928-3926 for booking info.
Capt. Phil of Fishy Business in Orient reports:
The Ayers group joined us to open up tog season yesterday. The guys had a solid day, both fishing and weather-wise. We put a load of chunky blackfish on ice. A nice shot of big sea bass also hit the cutting table, and short life kept everyone bent between keepers.
The Flandrau group joined us this week to target stripers mainly., We ended up filling our limit of bass and picking a bunch of bluefish. We finished up with a limit of big sea bass.
They sail out of Duryea’s in Orient. Give Phil a call to book a trip: 516-316-6967.
The Shinnecock Star in Hampton Bays reports:
All the wind and rain hindered the bite during the final week of fluke season for 2022. We did get out for one last hurrah this weekend, and we put some good ones on the boat.
We’ll be focusing primarily on blackfish starting this Saturday when the season opens on the south shore (10/15).
They sail out of Oaklands Marina on the west side of Shinnecock Inlet. Call Capt. John for trip info and reservations: 631-728-4563.
Bill at Westlake Marina in Montauk reports:
“Striped bass fishing has been very good this week. ‘The bass have been chewing the bottom out of the boat.’ Albie fishing has been good this week. Bottom fishing has also been productive. Giant bluefin have been getting caught at the butterfish hole. Some guys are getting 3 hookups a day. Fish are between 600-750 pounds. Tog hasn’t opened yet for rec anglers, but the commercial guys have been doing a good job on them.
Basically, anything you want to catch is biting right now.”
Montauk’s Viking Fleet reports:
Fishing has been a little bit slow since the storms passed. We put in the time though, so we culled some good fish. Yesterday’s pool went to Henry Logan from Brooklyn who caught a 3 pound porgy. We had a decent pick of porgies and sea bass throughout the day. Lots of mackerel were in the mix.
Tuesday was tough, but we managed a pick of porgies in the larger size range, as well as 3-4 pound sea bass.
We tried for striped bass on the full moon, but that was some slow fishing. We didn’t pick any fish until the 11th hour, when we found some nice sized ones.
The weekend was equally slow. We managed to pull up some fish, but we put in the work. The wind was making it especially tough. On Saturday afternoon, we ended up finding a bunch of weakfish, porgies and chub Macks. Jason Flowers from Massapequa managed a 4.5 pound sea bass to take the pool. That morning’s trip saw mostly smaller fish, but a decent cod came over the rail. Call the office or book online.
Ethan at Whitewater Outfitters in Hampton Bays took his kayak up to the north shore for the blackfish opener this week. Larry from the shop joined him. They each picked a 12 pound tog, and a few others each between 6 and 9 pounds. They were dropping green crabs with lighter tackle. A lot of people have been doing well up there.
Down here, there’s lots of good bass around, coming in waves. The blow we just experienced get them moving. It also got the peanuts and mullet moving out of the bay. There are good bass on them. There are also good bass on the bunker schools to the west; fish to 40 pounds have been getting caught this week. Some surf guys are getting in on the action too.
The inlet has also been productive. Guys are picking fish to 30 pounds from the rocks. There are also a good amount of albies blitzing there. Boat guys are getting them to the east. Bass are still moving around in the bay. Check the bridge, or backwater spots for a good shot at decent fish.
Offshore, there’s been some great fish caught. Troll the deep water side of the Hudson for a shot at a bigeye. Follow the draggers and toss a chunk out for some good yellowfin.
Chris Albronda from Montauk reports:
“We had a very exciting week in Montauk. Stripers of all sizes were blitzing on the surface. Fish were caught on topwater plugs, bucktails, soft plastics, diamond jigs, etc. You name it, they ate it. It’s been the best week of striper fishing Montauk has seen this year. Fish up to 50 pounds were caught and released.
The final week of fluke fishing was very productive, with double digits hitting the scales.
A few boats scouted for tautog and found it to be very productive in the shallows. It should be a great tog season.
The albies can be found up at shagwong and down around the south side. It seems with the biomass of stripers around the point, the albies have been steering clear of it. If you want to catch an albie, best leave the dock early and be ready to fish at first light. Yellowfin and bluefin fishing has also been very good offshore.” Give Chris a call at 631-830-3881 to book a trip.
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Eastern Long Island Fishing Report
What a week! A skunk had plagued me for about 3 weeks, and I was finally able to put it to bed a few days ago. “Put it to bed” is putting it nicely. I manhandled the stinky varmint.
Not many guys were on the bite, but the small lineup put fish from 20 to 40 pounds on the beach during the day. The anglers who had the gusto to work the night tides afterward were handsomely rewarded. It wasn’t lights out all night; putting in the hours was necessary. Those who put in hard work put fish to nearly 50 pounds on the sand.
The incoming weather may very well wash out all this good fishing. Then again, it might just ignite the bite. I know there’s fish biting on the sand as I type, all riled up from the increased whitewater. The wind’s rising with the swell, and the rips look super juicy. If the bite DOES die down because of this swell, I feel certain that the blitzing is going to start on the backside of it. The cooler temps will keep the night bite firing, and the daytime migration action-packed.
Gannets started showing up in greater numbers this morning, so the wildlife spectacle should be awesome in the very near future. Lots of whales have been passing through, moving west along the beaches. They’re hanging a little bit farther out than they do in the summer, but they’re coming close to the beach to feed every once in a while. There are a lot of mother-and-calf pairs going by too, so be careful if you’re boating. They’re doing a lot of playing as they migrate. They’re usually very easy to see.
The ocean is filled with bunker schools, but the bass are working on peanut bunker and anchovies as they migrate. I’ve been seeing a lot of needlefish in there too, so don’t sleep on those long, skinny lures. If the bite is tough, you might want to try throwing something small. Teasers could be a great bet this coming week.
I have blackfish on the mind. A fish two years ago broke my spirits after cutting me off during an extremely long run. I’m looking to put a big one on the beach this fall, and maybe take one home for dinner. I’ve never had blackfish, and I’ve only heard the best things. The next few weeks should provide good opportunities to accomplish that.
Get out there and have some fun. The run is on!
Tight lines.