The fluke season got off to a good start on the east end of Long Island, while those fishing to the west scored stripers to 50 pounds.
Many of the fluke taken on Montauk party boats, such as the Lazybones and Ebb Tide, were in the 4-6 pound range and the pool fish ran 7-8 pounds. There were exceptions, like the 11-pounder taken on Tuesday by Mike Young on the Lazybones.
Along the North Fork, fluke from 4-7 pounds were caught and a few in the 10-pound range also came over the rails.
There was a 50-pound striper caught on Sunday in the Hudson by Frank Grisanti, who was fishing off Croton, and a 52-pounder caught in Jamaica Bay by Curtis Lybrand.
You will also have sea bass in the mix this weekend as the season opens tomorrow with a 12½-inch size limit and 25 per-day catch limit. The porgy fishing starts on Tuesday for anglers fishing from private boats or rental skiffs, and there is a 10-fish bag limit and 10½-inch size limit. The charter and party boats can’t start fishing for porgies until June 12.
In the New York Bight, anglers are having a party with all the bass and blues that are being caught. Along Staten Island’s south shore and over to the Breezy Jetty, fishermen are taking fish on diamond jigs or cut bunker.
Got a report from an angler who fished on the Flamingo last week and he said the striper action was top notch and everyone was taking their two-fish limit.
We also get reports of good bass action in Long Island Sound, with keepers being taken in the area of the Throgs Neck Bridge as well as over to City Island and to Steppingstone Light.
Fluke fishing along Long Island’s south shore was better in some areas than others. Boats out of Freeport did fair on the half-day trips fishing local waters like Reynolds Channel and Swift Creek and finding keepers to four pounds.
The Captree Fleet is reporting that its customers are finding decent action on fluke with a few keepers mixed in.
Bass and blues are being caught at most of the South Shore inlets and inside the bays.