The Saltwater Edge

Tim at The Saltwater Edge shared that false albacore were caught over the last couple of days around the Harbor of Refuge and there were still reports of good number of green bonito along most of the south county beaches. Striped bass anglers continued to report encounters with brown sharks and it’s to the point where many responsible striped bass anglers have taken a break from targeting bass in an effort to prevent the bass from being killed by sharks. Tautog reports have been a little slow to start the season but will undoubtedly improve as the water starts to cool off. There are still some nice sized fluke around along with black sea bass and good-sized scup. The mid-shore tuna grounds are still producing some nice sized bluefin tuna, but the fish are heavily pressured and often difficult to fool. There have been reports of some nice sized mahi starting to show up around the highfliers inside of the shipping lanes.

Over at The Saltwater Edge, they are starting to see fish transition into more fall like patters as we approach the end of August. Baitfish are starting to move out of the salt ponds and along the beaches fueling surface feeds from predators like striped bass, bluefish, and green bonito. Hopefully the false albacore will be joining in soon! Anglers targeting striped bass continue to be plagued with sharks in many areas but if you can get away from the sharks there are good numbers of bass around. Ground fishing for fluke and black sea bass has been producing well for numbers but most of the fish being reported are short of keeper size. Tautog reports are just starting to get going with most anglers still focusing their attention on other species. Offshore, the recreational bluefin bite has been producing well south of Block and Montauk. The fish are dispersed across a wide area and it can pay to move around and get away from the fleet of boats if you are not finding success. There has been talk of some yellowfin around the shipping lanes but the bite doesn’t seem to be very consistent.