This week was a transition week for the bass and weakfish in the inner bays says Captain Craig Cantelmo of Van Staal reels. High temperatures moved much of the action to the bays closest to the inlets with “happy” fish visiting all the flats near the cool water. Look for these fish to be most active during the flood and throw small lures to them. The surf scene is really starting to heat up with the largest breeder fish arriving along the South Shore beaches. You will find some of the biggest fish of the year in the next few weeks as they migrate north after spawning. This is a night time fishery and throwing large plugs is the key to success. If you’re fishing the open beaches make sure you find some structure. Montauk has had a steady pick of large fish and should continue through the month.
Ken Morse at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor says fluking has been good in Sag Harbor with lots of fish reported up to 6 pounds. There are fish being caught in Montauk as well, but with more throwbacks there. Hold on to your rod if fishing the ferry slip at night. Several anglers had rods ripped out of stakes and dragged off this week. Could be the result of an influx of big sand sharks. Big porgies are still going strong west of Jessups and anglers are catching blues up to 12 pounds off Gardner Island.
Further west, Captain John McMurray of One More Cast Charters has been fishing hard. Fishing is the best he’s ever seen it! There have been epic Montauk-style bass blitzes ... it's complete mayhem! There are butterfish, squid and "king gar" or "needlefish" (Scomberesox saurus). These things have been flying out of the water everywhere while bass and bluefish (both big and small) are going bonkers on them. Inside Jamaica Bay, there’s also fish. Small bass and larger bluefish have been blitzing Atlantic silverside (aka spearing) with some frequency. One would think it would begin to slow down with all this warm weather, but so far it's showing no signs.
Check back every Wednesday for a new report
-Tee Clarkson
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