This week’s fishing just got better and better for striped bass in both Shinnecock and Peconic Bays says Captain Craig Cantelmo of Van Staal reels. The warm weather brought in large schools of fish. Craig was kind enough to take me out for a few hours last Friday and we caught some great fish sight casting and throwing poppers in the shallows. The fish will start to school up and head east in the next week or 10 days as water temperatures rise. There were some nice weakfish caught around Jessup’s Neck this week. Look for these fish to be active during the next moon cycle.
Ken Morse at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor reports that the fluke fishing improved at the Green Lawns this week with anglers reporting fish up to 26 inches. Trolling at the Ferry slowed but the bucktail bite at the Race made up for it with bass up to 40 lbs being caught during the middle of the day. The big porgies are really hugging tight to the structure and the weakfishing remains good in the Peconics with fish stacking in deep holes on low tide.
In Jamaica Bay, Captain John McMurray of One More Cast Charters says the creeks have pretty much shut down due to a combination of a major influx of large adult bunker and an increase in the water temperature by a good 10 degrees. You can still drop a livie down there at dawn and a big bass or bluefish will grab it right quick. Keeper-sized bass have been blitzing fairly consistently on sand-eels and silversides on the outside. Most fish are in the 28-inch range, with plenty over 30 inches and some over 35 inches. It does tend to be a morning bite. As the sand-eels get onto the white-sand flats on the back side of Breezy Point, expect the sight-fishing to improve. Another thing we can look forward to is the potential of another great bonito run like the one we had last year.
Check back every Wednesday for a new report.
-Tee Clarkson
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