The first summer-like weather happened over the past weekend. Combined with temps of 80 degrees and light winds, it made Saturday a beach day. Long Beach had plenty of umbrellas, beach chairs and bathing suits.
Oh, yes, there were folks swimming! The water temps are close to 60 degrees, so it’s still a little chilly.
The warming bay temps have brought a variety of fish to the area. There still is a good porgy bite west of Jessups. Mixed sizes are responding to clam chum and clam baits. Some of the larger porgies are being caught drifting.
Mixing in with these porgies are the ever-present sea robins. I even caught a couple of large blowfish. I did a little fluke fishing last weekend, and results are getting better, as I did catch five fluke. Fishing is tough, with areas loaded with remaining sea robins.
Striped bass fishing is good, with fish of mixed sizes. There are good numbers of keepers for the boat fisherman. Fish are responding to bucktails and jigs. There are good numbers of striped bass at Plum Gut with keepers available.
New to the area this week was a run of huge bluefish. Most fish are 6 to 12 pounds. These gators were a nuisance for a couple of days but seem to have moved to the west. My guess is they are headed up-bay. A handful of weakfish have been caught, but the bite is not on yet.
It’s time to get on the water and catch some fish!
The shorebound anglers are catching striped bass around the local creeks on soft plastics and plugs. Bait fisherman are also catching porgies. Montauk has bass and bluefish around the Point. Some fluke and porgies are being caught by the bottom-fishing boats.
The next month should have some good fishing for both the boat and beach fishermen.
