Long Island, Metro NY - West End Fishing Reports

Eric from Jones Beach Bait and Tackle said the shop is due to open within the next week or two but is currently closed. He did know there have been some blues, school bass and shad coming from West End 2 between the coast guard station and the jetty on metals, swimming plugs and soft plastics. Bass and blues are also roaming inside the bay along the shorelines bordering the Jones Beach bridges.

Jay from Jones Beach Bait Station has been working the bay around the Wantagh Bridges and scoring with decent numbers of schoolies on 4 to 5-inch paddletails with ¾-ounce heads and small bucktails on the last of the incoming and first of the ebb. The shop expects to open in early May.

Captain Mike from the Capitol Princess in Freeport said Saturdays trip saw tons of porgies and a good pick at of seabass. The boat ended the day with just under a limit. Weakfish made a showing and they got a limit on them. A couple of cod have been coming over the rail as well. The boat will be sailing through January

It’s Welcome Aboard to Capitol Tackle in Freeport. The shop has been newly renovated and carries a complete line of terminal tackle. They are also stocked with fresh and frozen bait. The report indicates that there are marauding bands of jumbo blues running around. Trolled Mojo rigs have nailed some nice jumbo bass, and the best hours for bass activity regardless of the method are the early morning and early evening. (516) 490-6314.

Over on the Capt. Lou Fleet on the Nautical Mile in Freeport Capt. Willie Garrett on the Starstream VIII said that after the storm there was a distinct slowdown on flattie action. The action did pick up a touch on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. The catch has included sea bass and mackerel. Over on the Capt. Lou VII Capt. Anthony Gillespie said the action did not rebound until Friday after the storm. Fluke action was good. Sea bass on the weekend saw good catches of large fish along with good numbers of red hake.

Capt. Steve of the Super Hawk in Point Lookout said his fares continued to connect with sea bass, jumbo scup and nice size summer flatties on the half-day runs. The larger fluke are being taken by anglers who employ Gulp. Special Evening trips for sea bass, scup and fluke will depart at 6:15 p.m. on August 14th and 15th. Reservations are required.

Paul at River Bay Outfitters in Oceanside said that there was hot weather and hot fishing before the storm. River Bay Outfitters had their annual White Fly and Smallmouth trip and Paul called it “epic.” Twenty-seven anglers landed over 200 of those hard-fighting gamefish. Buoy Bob was high hook with most fish falling for one of his hand tied poppers. Duck Dennis nailed one that had to be over 18-inches and it was just one of many for him. Left Foot Kenny and VA Fred really have the carp fly fishing dialed in. Using Freddie's Bread Fly, they have been hauling in some very impressive fish. The fishing all changed with Tuesday's storm. The rivers flooded, lakes got muddy and the bays now have plenty of debris and weed, so most anglers took a break this week. Before the storm the saltwater fly fishing was good on bluefish. The schools were scattered but they should regroup this week. Plenty of snappers in the bay and they should be a lot of fun on a fly rod in a few weeks. Please note that River Bay Outfitters will be closed Saturday, August 15th through Tuesday the 18th. Tight lines and get outdoors.

Mark Keller and the staff of Bay Park Fishing Station on Reina Road in Oceanside reported the Big News of the Week was made on Saturday by kayaker Skyler Davis who slam dunked an 11.70-pound Sheepshead. Skyler duped the fish on a blackfish jig tipped with an Asian crab. In other news, porgies are biting well at Breezy Point and the Atlantic Beach and Rockaway Reefs. The AB Reef also saw some decent summer flattie action on Saturday.

Capt. Nick Savene of No Time Charters in Oceanside reported the Bob Milan family scored on 60 ling, a few summer flatties and some sea bass. The Kenny Owens group drilled a limit of bass to 18-pounds while releasing keepers and shorts. Will and Tania had a blast on the flattie grounds as they decked seven keepers to 4-1/2 pounds and bagged some sea bass. Some dates are available.

Mike from Bernie’s Bait & Tackle in Sheepshead Bay was surprised by the quality of the bass action inside of Jamaica Bay this week. He had casters coming in most of the week reporting big numbers of stripers, with a good number of them falling into the 12 to 13-pound range. One regular customer reported landing over 40 fish on Saturday night with SP Minnows doing the damage. Mike also knew of some good action taking place along the Staten Island shoreline on fish into the teens. He added that the bay and local waters are loaded with bait. The shop’s current hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and closed Mondays.

From Bernie’s Bait & Tackle in Sheepshead Bay, we heard of some schoolie bass coming from Staten Island and from inside Jamaica Bay on bait and swimming plugs. There are still a few herring coming from the Coney Island Pier. The shop’s current hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and closed Mondays.

Capt. Bob Weigand of the Lady Flamingo on Knapp Street told me the storm stirred the pot and woke up the blues. Saturday and Sunday were quite good with plenty of fish in the 3 to 6-pound class. The fares have been employing silver or gold 3 to 4-ounce jigs with and without tube tails. The captain noted that the hammered jigs are outfishing the smooth ones.

Capt. Dave Paris of the Capt. Dave III on Emmons Ave in Sheepshead Bay told me the Offshore Fluke Marathon on Sunday saw a catch of 20 keepers and loads of shorts. The night bite on porgies remains spectacular.

Capt. Dave Paris of the Capt. Dave 3 on Emmons Ave in Sheepshead Bay told me the Offshore Wreck Special on Saturday was nothing short of super-duper and incredible. The fares aboard hauled in a limit of sea bass with many in the 4 to 5-pound class. They also limited on jumbo scup and had weakfish, pollock and cod hitting the deck. The captain has another Offshore Wreck Special scheduled for Saturday, December 12th that will depart the night before at 8 p.m. It will target giant sea bass, porgies and cod. Reservations are required so call (917) 251-2628. Night bass trips have been discontinued for the season.

Capt. Tony Renda of the charter boats Reel Challenge/Ho Choy in Seaford checked in to report that Jill, Rich, Dominic and Steve used clams, spearing, squid and bergal strips to get lock and load action on the bottom fishing grounds. They tallied a limit of sea bass to 4-pounds, mackerel, one whiting, ling, a few keeper fluke and plenty of shorts. Call for dates.

I heard from Drew at South Shore Marine Supply in Massapequa and a customer had success at the Cholera Banks on two consecutive trips. The first day saw a catch of two 10-pound cod, and the next run had two 7-pound blackfish. The store has frozen bunker, frozen and fresh clams, chum logs, spearing, and precut and whole squid both local and California.

The news from Bill Witchey at Combs Bait and Tackle in Amityville is that summer flattie activity was good at times when the wind and tide were cooperative with each other. Overall, the outside areas had better action than the bays. The top three spots were the Cholera and the Hempstead where fish to 8-pounds were captured, and the Tankers Fleet. Bill noted that the Cholera and Hempstead had excellent numbers of squid in the water while the Tankers had loads of sand eels. Therefore, the top two colors of choice were white and pink. Anglers who employed whole baby squid scored on larger fish but had to contend with sea bass that were also on a squid diet. Inshore fluking was slow in the back bays but decent at Fire island and Jones Inlets. The outgoing tide was the most productive at both inlets. The inlets were also holding plenty of sea robins, the occasional bluefish and a good number of those pesky cow nose rays. Bill advised that if you hook up with a ray it’s best to cut your line. He had four broken rods brought into the shop during the week after an encounter with a cow nose. Anglers found chub and Spanish mackerel on the outside that would hit small tins. Spanish macks were also seen near the Meadowbrook Bridge. Sea bass activity at local wrecks and pieces was very good and they responded to clams and jigs. The fall smorgasbord is already starting to develop for bottom fishing anglers. Drop your chum pot and be prepared to connect with large kingfish to 17-inches, blowfish, porgies and an occasional cocktail blue. Bill has developed an in-house bait for bottom anglers called Clam Frenzy. So far, it has proven effective in outfishing regular clams.

I spoke to Bill Witchey at Combs B&T on Merrick Road in Amityville and bass are already very active in Raritan Bay NJ. Private anglers were averaging 30 fish per boat. The top color for lures or teasers was white, and the top bait was bloodworms. Reports indicated that bass were ignoring the bunker chunks. The shop’s hours are Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Now is the time to bring in your rods for repair, and your reels for line changing and basic tune ups. The shop has mussels, clams, chum, sandworms, squid and green crabs. (631) 264-3525.

It’s Welcome Aboard to Capt. Vinnie Calabro of Karen Ann Charters in Sheepshead Bay. The captain has a five-boat fleet and can arrange excursions for bottom fishing as well as bass and tuna. Currently he has one of his boats docked in Raritan Bay, NJ and they are chasing bass. Over the weekend they targeted the waters from Perth Amboy to the Raritan River and on Friday a limit of slot fish was taken. The fish fell to light tackle bucktails and rubber lures. For information or to book a trip please call (516) 728-6952.