Nice Weather, Good Fishing

We have been having some nice summer weather. This past week, the warm weather has moderated. August has turned out quite nicely, as evidenced by the beautiful weekend we just experienced. It may have been the best complete weekend, both days, of the entire summer.

Last week, rains cooled off both ocean and bay water temps. They were about 73 degrees. Ocean beachgoers have been treated to a whale and porpoise show most days. Huge schools of bait are holding the mammals along the beaches. There were great days at the bay beaches, also.

Locally, the cooler bay temps didn’t really affect the fishing. It’s quiet, with just some cocktail blues at Jessups. They are taking metal and jigs. Remember to downsize the tackle to enjoy the fight.

There are rumors of a few bass in the ferry slip. It’s a little early, but some keepers were caught. There were small porgies from the boat and the shore.

No fluke news in the local bay to report. The weakfish still keep biting. They have gotten bigger in size. More keepers are in the mix. Small jigs and teasers and hi/lo squid are both working.

Snappers are chasing small bait around the local docks and creek mouths. Snapper poppers and tiny metal jigs are working.

There are still crabs being caught in the local creeks.

Long Beach saw good haulseining this past week, with blowfish, kingfish and snappers showing up in the nets. Boats fishing in the Sound are finding large porgies and sea bass on the bait rigs. The north side of Plum Island and points to the east are a good place to start. Bluefish and some striped bass are taking drifted lures and bait at Plum Gut and the Race.

One angler reported good flyrod fishing for porgies around Plum Island.

Montauk seems to be one of the few places that has some fluke. There are plenty of shorts, and most boats are working the deep water south of the Point. Good sea bass fishing and large porgies are in the ocean.

A good tuna bite to the south of the Point has been reported.