STRIPED bass, weakfish, fluke and bluefish are all on tap for the weekend and from the looks of it, saltwater fishing is in full bloom.
Right up until Wednesday’s downpour, fluke and weakfish had been the big surprises. Fluke fishing is offering a healthy mix of keepers and shorts along both shores of Long Island, while weakfish numbers and their size offer great sport for South Shore anglers. Striped bass fishing has been nothing short of spectacular as most anglers are able to take home a keeper as well as release a few more. Bluefish numbers continue to grow, but they’re a little erratic at the moment.
In the New York Bight, party and private boats fished the Marine Parkway Bridge at night for weakfish to eight pounds as well as a fair number of keeper bass; most of these fish were taken on sandworms. There was also decent striper action off Floyd Bennett Field, both early and late in the day. The best fluke fishing seems to be on the Jersey side, behind Sandy Hook and in Raritan Bay. Charter boats trolling for bass did well in Raritan Bay this week.
Stripers are moving down the rivers and into Long Island Sound. John DeCuffa, from Jack’s Bait and Tackle Shop on City Island, weighed in stripers to 35 pounds early in the week that were taken off Sands Point and Hempstead Harbor in 40 feet of water. Striped bass can also be found from the Throgs Neck Bridge to Execution Light by anglers using fresh bunker. There are still flounder to be found around City Island, while the best of the fluke fishing seems to be by Matinecock Point.
Out towards Huntington, there was terrific fishing for both fluke and bass, with weakfish also in the area.
Fluke fishing had been good in Reynolds Channel and party boats from Freeport had been doing well until the deluge came on Wednesday. Flounder fishing picked up for those fishing from the Jones Beach piers. Fluke fishing was also the topic in Great South Bay, where party boats had been enjoying good results the early part of the week. Excellent catches of weakfish were reported to be had off Ocean Beach.
In Moriches Bay, flounder and fluke are both on the menu, but flounder fishing seems to produce the best results right now. Rental boats had been limiting out near the Brown House and out to Buoy 14, with flounder up to two pounds and better.
Fluke and weakfish continue be taken in the Shinnecock Canal. Fluking had been great early in the week right in front of the Shinnecock Inlet with bass being caught in the inlet and from the jetties.
The whole East End of Long Island seemed to come alive at once. Fluke fishing from Montauk, Orient Point and Greenport saw many fish to eight pounds being caught, and even a couple in the 10-pound range. Striped bass are also a good bet from both Orient and Montauk Points, with most taking their limit in keepers without any problem.
