OCEAN BEACH TO POINT OF WOODS, NY
Located on the south side of Great South Bay, this stretch of water that borders the Fire Island communities of Ocean Beach, Ocean Bay Park and Point O’ Woods, made its name on the great weakfish runs of past years. Many anglers simply refer to the area in general terms as Ocean Beach, an inaccuracy that no one seems to make much of a fuss over. Weakfishing here was a total bust last season, as it was all over the region. Surprisingly, this spring has seen some surprisingly good action with yellowfins, and particularly in the Ocean Beach area.
While weakfish draw the greatest attention here, not to be overlooked are excellent opportunities for other species such as stripers, blues, fluke and sea bass, with good fishing possible from May through October. Fish the buoy chains in the summer and you’ll likely be rewarded with triggerfish. Located just south of Range and East channels, the area is flushed by strong currents that sweep over several deep holes and the edges of sand bars.
At times, some of the best weakfishing is found to the east of OB at Point O’ Woods. In speaking with local sharpie, Freddy Nuscheler, who fishes out of Burnetts Bait & Tackle in Bay Shore, the area in front of the Point O’ Woods Dock features a hole of about 20 feet. Although it is not marked on charts, Freddy says it is basically right in front of the dock. This transition from deep water to the shallows is a perfect ambush point for weaks to intercept baitfish. The best times to fish here are early in the morning or after dark when boat traffic is at a minimum.
As fluke settle into the bay, especially during June and July, Freddy will drift the channel in front of Ocean Beach utilizing a typical hi-lo rig, tipped with spearing and either a strip of squid or fluke belly. The last of the incoming tide and first of the out is prime time for fluke. Stripers, including a fair number of cows, show up in my weekly reports throughout the year. Anglers fishing live baits like bunker, kingfish and croaker do consistently well by working the many rips and edges in the area. I have made several trips with Capt. Walter on the Captree based Fish Finder II to this area when all other boats were “back west,” so I know that stripers from schoolies to 30-plus pounds are active after dark here. While some regulars prefer outgoing water for their striper efforts, plenty of fish have been taken here on incoming water as well.
Tackle and gear for this area is typical for bay type fishing. For fluke, a 6-1/2- to seven-foot baitcasting rod rated for 12- to 17-pound line, matched to a Shimano Calcutta 400 or Abu 6500 will suffice. On the bait end, nothing beats a local spearing on a bucktail in my opinion, but the white side of a legal fluke is also great bait. For weakfish, a six- to seven-foot spinning rod rated for eight- to 12-pound-test paired to a good quality spinning reel with a smooth drag is ideal for delivering small bucktails and soft plastics. A dependable drag is critical when targeting weaks with lighter lines, especially when double digit tiderunners are a possibility. Soft plastics such as Bass Assassins and jelly worms are standbys for weaks, with red or purple my choice for worms, and white or pink good choices for Bass Assassins.
For livelining stripers, my favorite outfit consists of a Lamiglas Triflex BL7030C matched to an Abu Garcia 7000C spooled with 20- to 30-pound mono or 30-pound braid, with a top shot or leader of 40-pound mono.
A host of tackle shops from Patchogue to Lindenhurst can provide updates on the fishing in this area. Check their ads in the report section for contact info. For a high quality chart of the area, go to www.captainsegullcharts.com/pages/New%20York.html. This will bring you to Capt Segull’s Sportfishing Charts. Choose chart number SLI107, which covers the South Shore of Long Island from Shinnecock to Jones Inlet.
