AS is usual for the first week of September, the weather made a turn towards fall, and around that bend we see some exciting fishing for saltwater anglers in New York’s marine waters.
Inshore fishing appears to be excellent with a wide variety of species being offered. Most of the bays and harbors along the North and South Shores are now loaded with snapper blues.
In Jamaica Bay, the weakfish are making a strong run from Floyd Bennett Field to the Marine Park Bridge, snappers are everywhere, and cocktail blues are roaming near the bridges. Fluke fishing on the outside remains in the channels and is fair to middlin’. Party boats working the New York Bight for bluefish are doing excellent and taking a nice mix of blues, weakfish and a few Spanish mackerel and bonito. The best fishing continues to be on the bottom for sea bass and porgies, and there are lots of ’em.
In the City Island area, porgy fishing is still tops, with a fair amount of large blues being caught by the bridges. Bonito and Spanish mackerel have been seen in the western end of the Sound, but they’re difficult to target. Blues to 15 pounds taken in Hempstead Harbor and off Port Wash. Everyone seems to be porgy fishing in the Huntington area and they are all taking their limit.
The unpredictable weather this time of year is driving the canyon runners nuts, but when they do make it to the edge they’re finding pretty good action chunking at the Dip and the West Wall of Hudson Canyon for yellowfin, longfin and mahi mahi. Schools of small bluefin as well as a few giants have been showing at the Butterfish Hole south and west of Montauk Point.
There were a few small makos that were tagged and released near the Yankee Wreck and a mix of blue sharks and threshers being taken 20-30 miles off the South Shore.
Party boats out of Freeport are filling their customers’ buckets with sea bass and porgies from local wrecks and reefs. Night bluefishing at 17 Fathoms has been very good, and offshore of Cholera trollers are taking bonito, skipjack and false albies.
The Captree Fleet is still finding a ton of short fluke in Great South Bay, with the better fish found outside when the weather permits. Weakfish are hot items again in the Great Bay off Ocean Beach, with the night tides producing the best fishing. There was some terrific fluke fishing in Moriches Bay early this week, but just one in 10 was a keeper.
Peconic Bay is still a hot spot for porgies, with weakfish making a comeback at Nassau Point. Decent fluking off Shinnecock in 80 feet of water, with false albacore making a strong showing in the same area. Inside the inlet, there were some keeper bass taken at the Ponquogue Bridge and large blues as well as snappers are throughout the bay.
We got word that yellowfin tuna are being chunked near the 40-Fathom Curve and that both giant and school bluefins are at the Middle Grounds. Montauk boats continue to do well with fluke, porgies and sea bass.