Long Island, Metro NY - South Shore Fishing Reports

From Capt. Paul Nilsson of Just One Bite Charters in Center Moriches I heard of a slow bite on the bass this week. A few fish scattered on the morning tide. The fluke fishing has picked up with the rise in water temps. A couple of good warm days should really turn the bite on.

In from Richie at Dick's B&T in Mastic Beach we learned the fluke side of thongs, there appears to be a lot of short fish in the bay, with some keepers. On the bass front, the weather held anglers down, but there was a handful of fish caught. If lures are not working, try a chunk as they may be a little on the “off” side of things. The water is still cold with low 60s at the Bridge and close to 40 near the inlet. On Sunday morning, one angler reported bass in the inlet, but no details. In the surf scene, anglers plying Great Gun have scored well on bass. The key was throwing Super Strike Darters, but he would not reveal the color. Sinking SP Minnows should grab a few fish too. There are some blues running the inlet area.

John at J&J Sports in Patchogue said the local wrecks and artificial reefs along the south shore have been holding plenty of keeper sized sea bass with plenty of porgy and ling in the mix. The best way to catch fish off the wrecks would be bait rigs with clam or squid, or jigging. Striped bass to 28 inches have been reported off Patchogue, with weakfish to the east a bit. Blues have started showing up at Patchogue's Mascot Dock as locals reported a few fish in the 5-pound range. Bunker or mackerel is a fine bait or try a popping plug. Weakfish catches have also been reported by Smith Point County Park bridge and in the Narrow Bay area. Anglers have also reported weakfish at Moses State Park. Try drifting a small pink rubber shad on a hi-lo rig tipped with a squid strip or a whole sandworm. The early fluke season has begun, rewarding anglers with some decent catches. You can't be successful unless you get out there and try. The shop has gotten reports of keepers (up to 5lbs) mixed in with shorts from Moriches to FI Inlet.

Down the road at Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle in Oakdale, Billy reported the entire week of fishing has been one for the books. From the bay to the beach, the bass are in and they’re going off! In the bays Billy reported solid schools of impressive size and numbers. Find some birds, pull up, and launch the arsenal at them. If you’re not seeing birds, odds are the bass are still around. Use search baits like swim shads, SPs, and bucktails to cast around and find where they’re at. The beaches are loaded with beautiful stripers. Big lures are key as big metal lips, SPs, bottle plugs, bucktails and darters have been getting smashed up all over the coast. This week Billy had one of the best surfcasting nights ever with a few friends. Billy, Vinny Cagnina, Todd Kowal from Fat Cow and his buddy Phil Coppola headed out for a night shift. They had the beach to ourselves, and we were all hooking up. Every time the fish came around, they got bigger and bigger. Todd and Phil had a banner night. Todd landed an easy 8 to 10 fish and Phil caught his first ever striper, a 12 pounder. Todd and Phil left around 12:30, and just before 1:00 a.m., Vinny and Billy hooked into some drag screamers at the same time. Twin 25 pounders came out of the foggy surf. Before you know it, the yellow-eyed demons will be in here tearing stuff up and then it’s time to focus on fluke. Speaking of fluke, the shop has already had some good reports of big schools of fluke ripping through the bay. Tom Luciano had some good flatties up to 5 pounds, as well as a solid 5-pound weakfish. Jig ‘em with light tackle or feed them some squid and spearing on one of the shop’s hand-tied rigs that always put fish in the boat.

Greg from Burnett's Marina in Bay Shore we heard Pete Roger's, on his “Monkey Boat” has been banging bass all week. He had fish in the back-bay, out front and near the Moses Bridge. John Payne, his dad, and father-in-law George trailered the boat out east to the North Fork for an early porgy trip. It turned out to be a smart move as the trio had big scup to 3 pounds. The “Girls,” Gina and Chrissy and the pups reported that fluking was steady, with fish to 24 inches for their efforts.

At Saltwaters Bait and Tackle in West Islip I heard the action was good this past week in spite of some crappy weather. Anglers found productive fluke waters in the State Channel with spearing and squid or bucktails tipped with Gulp. On the bass front, they still are roaming the entire bay from the ocean front to north side. Another highlight of the week was several anglers reporting they are marking weakfish near Ocean Beach, but catches have been slim. A few more days of warmer temperature trends could kick off the bite.

On the Capt. Gillen, we heard that Jimmy’s 4-pound, 6-ounce fluke is the heaviest one of the season so far.  Keepers this week also for Bryant, Colleen, Duff, and Lori, to name a few. They are now sailing every weekday at 11 a.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays at 6 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4 p.m.  There will be an expanded schedule Memorial Day Weekend and the full summer schedule goes into effect June 19. The spring / summer sailing and fare schedule is posted on their website.  Reservations recommended for all trips.  Rod, reel, bait, tackle included in fare. Reduced fares for seniors, veterans, active military, first responders, and children.  No surcharge for using credit cards.  Gift certificates available all year ‘round for birthdays, holidays, and special events.  For more information call 631-586-5511 or visit their website.

Capt. Walter on the Fishfinder II reported they are finally in the water and ready to kick off the 2026 season. Beginning this Tuesday, they will sail at 10 a.m. and again at 5 p.m. with fluke and bass on the menu.

On the Jib VI, Capt. Joe reported it was a slow pick of fish this past week with a few keepers on each trip. Largest fish of the week tipped the scales to 5.34 pounds.

On the King Cod VII out of Captree I heard from Capt. Joe who reported bay fluke action remained good in the back areas. Some anglers were able to cull limits, with plenty of short life. The weekend mixed bag combos saw slow sea bass fishing, but a lot of ling, with fluke inside the bay. The boat will have some more full day back bay fluke trips on the schedule while the fishing is good. Keep an eye on their social media accounts, or text Capt. Joe for the latest. They sail daily from the far right side of the dock.

On the Laura Lee Fleet out of Captree, according to Capt. Kenny, ling action was very good, but sea bass was on the slow side. Back in the bay, striper action was good four straight nights but slowed Saturday due to boat traffic. Saturday’s mid-day trip produced 75 sea bass and a lot of ling. Earlier in the week, Monday night, anglers had 27 striped bass keeping 8 slot size and releasing 19 oversize bass.

Frank at Suffolk Marine in Babylon reported the wind last week kept most off the water. Some reports of small bass to the west on the inside but nothing definitive.

Bob Rose at Bob's Bait and Tackle in Amity Harbor reported another tough week with Sunday finally a nice day. The fluke action is good between Lindenhurst and Amityville in the State Channel. Small bucktails tipped with spearing and Gulp have been the best choice for action. Stripers are smacking umbrellas in the State Channel with soft plastics and bucktails working best near the bridges.