• As water temperatures rise and bluefish enter the mix, the striper bite seems to have taken its first noticeable lull, but anglers continue to report large catches from North to South.
• Anglers on the South Shore are pulling up keeper sized fluke on the channel ledges.
• Weakfish continue their strong showing, with fish being caught in the bays and on the flats from north to south this week.
• Porgies are in abundance on the North Shore, within casting range of the rocky beaches.

Before getting into this week’s report, I recommend reading this article if you haven’t already: Striped Bass of a Lifetime

Here’s what the shops & charters have to say: 

Jamie from Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside reports: 

“Fluke bite remains steady in the inlets with most keepers being taken in deeper holes on squid & spearing. Stripers are being caught on mojos around the bunkers pods in 30-40 feet of water. Allison, Jody, and a few others had luck working the marshes at high tide with top water plugs. Come to Bay Park for all your inshore and offshore needs.”  

Freeport Bait and Tackle reports: 

“We hope everyone had a terrific Memorial Day weekend, and thank you to all who serve. The dock bite has been hot with several customers catching bluefish & stripers off the local docks and piers using fresh bunker chunks from the shop. We are open until 8:00PM Monday to Sunday.” 

Paul Mccain River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin said: 

“On Memorial day I took my boat out for the first time near Jones Beach – it was way too windy to do much fishing but it was great to get out on the boat for the first time. I caught an 18 inch fluke on the fly while some guys nearby were pulling up bluefish.

I’ve also been doing a lot of freshwater guiding – on the Connetquot, the fish would only take streamers and mop flies, with no dry flies being hit. On the Peconic River it was all pickerel and no bluegills, but good action nonetheless.”  

Brandon from Causeway Bait & Tackle in Wantagh reports: 

“Bass have been on the bunker pods but nothing crazy. We’ve been spotting thresher sharks around the bunker pods as well. The trolling bite outside Jones has been non-existent for us. There should still be some bass by the inlets, jetties and in the bays. Bridges are still holding bass and blues as well. Bluefish are all over the south shore and that fishing has been great. Plugs and spoons work well but the big ones are getting caught on bunker chunks. Fluking has been hit or miss, we’ve had a lot of customers complain to us about it in the shop lately. I caught an 18 inch fluke off the dock recently. We are fully stocked on all bait – fresh bunker daily & live eels in stock.” 

• Tim Regan’s Eastern Long Island Fishing Report: Click here to read what’s happening around Suffolk County and The Forks!

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

Gypsea Charters in Brooklyn reports:

“We saw good flaking over the past week with a steady pick of keepers on most trips. Despite several windy days, the fish still chewed with some anglers nailing their limit. Big fish of the week came in at just over 8 pounds caught Han Chu from Jersey. The bay fishing remains strong with no signs of letting up! We will continue fishing locally until they move out to the ocean in a few weeks.”

Rockfish Charters in Queens reports:

“This week the Rockfish has been chasing trophy size bass in the ocean every day we can get out, and slot fish in the bay when we can’t. Every day we’re breaking PB’s and got multiple 50’s this week, including our first fish of the day on Wednesday! We’ve done two trips for local giant bluefin tuna so far and hooked one that we lost after the main line to backing connection failed ten minutes in. Both trips were salvaged by catching huge bass on the way home. Our next availability is the week of June 12th. Call (347) 661-4501 to book a trip!”

 

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Here’s what local anglers on social media have been catching: 

 

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• Tim Regan’s Eastern Long Island Fishing Report: Click here to read what’s happening around Suffolk County and The Forks!

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

On Monday, I bobbed along to the wakes of dozens of other boats on the water enjoying the long weekend. It was a slow day of fishing for me, and I was brooding over the rough water kicked up by the wakes. But, with some guilt in my chest, I sat there thinking if I even earned the privilege to be fishing that day.  

I thought of those who fell fighting in wars, both present and past. Memorial day weekend, while a holiday weekend, always feels solemn to me. I try to remain conscious of the death toll that bought me this peaceful moment in time, and appreciate that I’m able to get out on the water and fish and rest easy in certain security, when billions of other human beings don’t have that right now. 

I can’t find the proper words, and there is likely no written statement, or act of gratitude, that can sufficiently acknowledge the debt we owe to our fallen American soldiers. I hope your Memorial Day was safe, relaxed, and with those who fought and died representing our country in mind. 

If you have served, or are now serving – thank you. 

What to Expect This Week

On the North shore, adult bunker schools have begun to propagate the shorelines and back bays along with bluefish. The striper bite this past weekend was a bit underwhelming for me with more schoolies and slots than big fish. I think I’m just spoiled; it’s been a really, really good Spring in terms of the daytime striper bite. Spots that I’ve been consistently hitting continue to hold fish, but I’ve had to work harder to get bit than I did back in April when I knew the fish were on peanut bunker, or most of May where the tube and worm had out-fished everything in my tackle repertoire. In my mind, this may be due to the aggressive migratory fish moving further East while others are taking residence and not feeding as heavily.

It seems even the bluefish that have shown up on the North shore are being a little hard to get. Despite seeing large schools this past weekend, I worked a popper through an area where the blues were visibly rising, and only hooked two with dozens of casts in-between. This wasn’t a true blitz, these bluefish were being more like trout on a river, just politely rising to the surface and dipping back down after eating whatever it was they were chasing, which was too small to see. While trading reports with a buddy from the South shore, he described a similar situation where he encountered a dense school of stripers that wouldn’t hit anything, eventually managing to get a schoolie to strike a popper and nothing else. 

A good fallback for when you’re failing to get bit and you know the fish are there is to cast out a popping lure a dozen times over the same area. Work it slowly, but aggressively so that it makes big splashes and covers the same spot for a few extra seconds, and chances are you’ll irritate a fish enough into attacking it. The same technique can be applied to sub-surface lures; anything that rattles and vibrates in the water column should work. Snap-jigging is also a good technique for drawing in stripers using their lateral line. 

When casting for finicky blues from shore, I’ve found a yellow or red teaser hook would out-fish my plug, jig, or casting spoon quite noticeably. One of my favorite ‘finicky bluefish’ rigs is a 2- to 3-ounce Joe Baggs resin jig in brown, green, or pink, with a teaser on top. That combo stayed tied to my surf rod for most of June through August last summer. Epoxy jigs and other thin metals do a great job imitating spearing or sand eels when the fish are keyed in on them, and the teaser can cover shrimp, crabs, or other tiny bait critters. Keep in mind that you’ll probably want to beef up your leader size to compensate – if a bluefish hits the teaser they’ll have a better chance at biting into your leader line on the way in. Somewhere between 50 to 80 pound test monofilament would be a good choice if you aren’t keen on using wire leaders. Just be sure to bring extra leader with you if you opt to go light.  

Good luck, be safe, and catch ‘em up. Thanks for reading.