As a resident in the Village of Patchogue for the past 33 years I have seen some extreme changes. For starters, I’ve seen the village go from a ghost town to a sterling town filled with high end dining, Studio 54 nightlife and a beautiful theatre. As part of Mayor Pontieri’s campaign, he promised a renewed and revitalized Patchogue along with transformations. Mayor Pontieri was elected many years ago and Patchogue has now become one of Long Island’s hot spots. One major change that caught my attention was the restructuring of the “L Dock” or better known as Mascot Dock.
Located at the end of South Ocean Avenue in Patchogue Village, Mascot Dock was once a run-down weather beaten dock that held very little fishing potential as the marina attracted looters and drug addicts more than fishermen. Thankfully, those days are well behind us as a major clean up took place thanks to law enforcement. This along with replacements of old broken wooden boards has made Mascot Dock one of the safest and fisherman friendly spots in all of the Patchogue shores. The combination of wooden benches, large stationary bait/fish cleaning boards, designated rod holders and safety ladders installed every 100 feet was part of the revitalization of Mascot Dock. The safety ladders go from the dock to the water in case there is an unfortunate fall. Best of all curbside parking is only a few feet from where you fish. Did I forget to mention that although this is a village marina, hassle free parking is open to the public between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. year-round? The only parking restriction starts from Memorial Day to Labor Day where parking after 6 p.m. is only permitted to village residents with village parking permits.
As for the fishing, Mascot Dock is a hot spot you want to be at in May. Just ask Pablo, Paul, John and the guys at J&J Bait and Tackle on West Main Street in Patchogue. For years, the crew at J&J have been sending their friends and customers to Mascot during the month of May where some exceptional action with big bluefish, slot to oversize stripers and large spawning weakfish are all possibilities. In fact when the bite is on, especially weakfish, you can often find the J&J crew fishing here before sunset. Years ago the night bite for weakfish was excellent throughout May, however the best fishing for the weakies are at the change of tide and just after sunrise and just before sunset. Plain 1-ounce leadhead and 7-inch Albino color Bass Assassin Shads produce the best during these conditions while a big fat juicy sandworm fished on a fish finder rig suits best when the rod is placed in a rod holder and dead sticking. Since relatively long cast is necessary to reach the fish, I doubt strongly a whole sandworm will not stay on the hook. With that said, you’ll find the Berkley Gulp Power Sandworms or the Fishbites Bloodworms both great substitutes and will stay on the hook no matter how far you cast. The other alternative when dead sticking is fresh local squid strips employed to a hi/lo rig. Stay away from the pink California squid since the local squid out fishes the stinky pinky 100 to 1.
Stripers are always a strong possibility here during May, especially where spearing is abundant in the nearby Patchogue River. Should that be the case, a fresh chunk of bunker on a fish finder rig will get the job done. More often than not a big bluefish will find your bunker chunk before a bass will. In fact for the past few seasons, bluefish in the 5 to 12-pound range has been most dependable at Mascot. Then again anything is possible at Mascot Dock during the month of May.
As for the remainder of the season, the trio of gamesters are still lurking the waters as long as there are baitfish to munch on, however as the forage fish disperse, so do the gamesters. July through October sees some fantastic blue claw crabbing along the bulkheads and pilings. Most of the larger crabs are caught here during July and August and the activity with crabbers during the dark hours with flashlights and nets is astounding just about every night during those summer months.
August and September sees families fishing the dock catching snappers, blowfish and kingfish. As for the best areas to fish, most of the action takes place along the south stretch of the dock, however the west side can be productive, especially for the snappers, blowfish and kingfish. Before hitting the dock stop by J&J for any bait and tackle need. The guys are well informed about the happenings in the area. You may want to bring a change of clothing in case you get skunked because Lombardi’s on the Bay is located just outside the marina and serves some magnificent dinners.
