Western Long Island and NYC Fishing Report- September 28, 2023

Good fluke fishing continues despite tough conditions toward the seasons end, stripers and blues abound on the north shore, and over-slot bass pack the south shore bays.

by Nick Cancelliere

Western Long Island and NYC Fishing Report

  • Gator bluefish on the North shore charging $5-10 a bite for light tackle anglers. 
  • Awesome black sea bass bite on bait and jigs. 
  • Stripers in the surf and in the rocks, if you can get your lures past the bluefish. 
  • Fluking shows no sign of slowing down as the end of the season approaches. 
  • Exotic catches from the piers – black drum, spot, croaker, and juvenile jacks. 

Jamie from Bay Park Fishing Station in Oceanside said:

“Stripers are showing up for those who are brave enough to head out in these conditions. Most are being taken at the bridges on clams and jigs. As the weather calms down this week we’re expecting the bunker to show up along the beaches and the fall run to really get going. The back bays are still loaded with peanut bunker as well, constantly being harassed by cocktail blues and weakfish, which is great fun fore the kids and on light tackle! Bay Park will be open 7 days a week for all your fishing and boating needs!” 

Petey Trovato from Lindenhurst Bait and Tackle reports:

“Alex Worgul had a nice day of fluking recently with six shorts and one 22-inch keeper. Additionally, lots of big stripers have been coming up off the bridges, including a 42 pounder! The bays are loaded with bait of all sizes and striped bass are growing increasingly active. The best way to find the biggins is using live bait.”

Brandon Weitz from Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh told me:  

“The weather has been horrible! But the fishing is still great. Hardcore anglers who decide to fish have been treated to overslot striped bass off the bridges, beaches, and inlets. Bluefish are still everywhere and angry, blitzing on bait in the back bays and thrashing in the churned up surf. Fluking is still good even as the end of the season approaches, so get your last keepers in while you can!”

Paul McCain from River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin said: 

“I got out Tuesday morning and opted to use spin tackle with all this crazy wind. It was a pretty good day of fluke fishing at Jones Inlet with a dozen shorts and two keeper fluke caught and released on the classic bucktail and gulp combo. A few days prior, a buddy and I were snapper fishing in a back bay and got into some tiny diaper stripers, probably 20 inches overall if you put them together, as well as small spanish mackerel between all the bluefish. Just because the weather is snotty doesn’t mean the fish won’t be biting, best advice I can give you is to get out whenever you have time and fish!” 

John from Freeport Bait and Tackle reports: 

“Big bass have been biting by the bridges and in the back bays. Anglers I talk to have been doing better in shallow water and by the marshes where the water is more protected from the wind, using topwater plugs and poppers. Small paddletails and SP Minnows are deadly right now too, with tons of peanut bunker swimming around. But nothing beats a live eel or bunker presentation. Dropping a live eel near a bridge piling or rocky boulder field is a sure way to hook a big striped bass. We’ve got much better weather ahead, stop in to the shop and get set up for the fall run!” 

Captain Josh Rogers of Gypsea Charters in Brooklyn reports:

“Unfortunately, Mother Nature has us tied to the dock more than we would like, but that just means fall is upon us! We continue to see good numbers of quality keeper fluke come up when we can get out. We should have another few trips of productive fishing before the season comes to an end. With the cooler temps, the fall run should be gearing up with stripers and blackfish right around the corner. We’re running open boat by reservation only as well as private charters for your desired species. Call or text (516)659-3814 for information and reservations.”

The Gypsea is working hard to get quality keeper fluke over the rail as the season begins to wind down and fall conditions make fluke fishing more challenging. (@gypseacharters)

Here’s what anglers have been posting on social media: 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alex Worgul (@alex_worgul)

 

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A post shared by @nothingeverchanging

The wind may be a bummer for some, but surfcasters have been getting after it and finding success under the whitecaps and wash. Stripers and bluefish swarm the whitewater left behind by waves and ambush the bait within. Fluke, bluefish, and weakfish blitz on peanut bunker, bay anchovies, and spearing in the back bays and  the Long Island Sound. Bonito and albies are around in numbers, if you can find them. 

I went out on two separate occasions this week, once off the beach with my surf set up, and the other in the Sound from my Hobie kayak. I got a thorough skunking when I went down to Jones Beach Tuesday night to try and catch some stripers in the whitewater. I launched diamond jigs, little neck swimmers, and heavy epoxy jigs with my friend Raul, whose pictures I feature frequently in the fishing report. 

While the forecast called for a Northeast blow across all of our weather apps, what we encountered on the beach was more like a Westerly wind right in our faces. So rather than have the wind at our backs and be able to launch casts behind the breakers to drag our lures through the whitewash, we had strong gusts of wind forcing us to break out heavier tackle and do our best to punch through the gales. 

The next day, the wind was forecasted to lay down in the afternoon, just in time for an after-work fishing trip. So I packed the ‘yak and launched at one of my favorite beaches on the North Shore. Unfortunately I discovered my fish finder had broke, and what was originally planned to be a calm bottom-jigging trip over one of my favorite boulders, instead turned into a blind casting and trolling session. Fortunately, the gator blues were willing to play ball, and I was able to land two on a trolling tube and get broken off by a third while jigging with my light tackle set up for schoolies. While I’d hoped to get into some of my first fall stripers, I can’t complain too much when I hook into fat and sassy bluefish instead.

Big blues continue to beat the stripers to the tube and worm rig when trolling on the north shore. (@li_kayak_fishing)

Trolling a Hogy SI Perfect tube at around 0.5 to 1.5 knots through shallow rocky boulder fields is my ultimate confidence presentation for stripers. When I want to cover water and locate fish, you can’t go wrong with the tube. Not only does it just plain work, but it seems to only ever land big fish for me. All of my largest striped bass and bluefish have come on the tube. 

What to Expect

So far, it’s looking like the wind will finally lay down for most of the first week of October, and some beautiful days are in store for next week. It’s still a surfcaster’s game this weekend with plenty of wind and rain but less than what we’ve had to contend with. The consistent Northeast winds may send some migrating fish to your shores, so don’t skip out on fishing just because the weather sucks. Go protected in your local back bay, or face mother nature head on at the beaches and give it your best shot. 

All the staple fish are around in abundance still. On the bottom – porgy, sea bass, fluke, and weakfish bite on light tackle and bait presentations. Bluefish continue to terrorize bait schools and make striper fishing more challenging. Opt for plugs or topwater lures over soft plastics, and beef up your line depending on your tolerance for losing lures. Personally, every time I’ve tried to jig with light tackle for stripers this week I’ve lost at least one lure to bluefish. Even in shallow back bays across the North shore, I just can’t seem to escape those toothy, yellow-eyed bastards.

Peanut bunker still flood the back bays, and bay anchovies, though not as visible as they were when the water was flat, are still around in great number and can be seen from close-up as a patch of rippled water. Bonito and albie reports have cooled a bit for the period of this storm, but anglers across the pond are catching albies once again and that should bode well for those with untreated fever.  

The fluke bite has been inspiring on the south shore, with loads of keepers being reported in the bays and off the beaches from Jones to Robert Moses. Most party boats have either canceled trips entirely or stayed within the bays, but have still found keepers in the protected waters and continue to board happy patrons.  

There were a noteworthy amount of big weakfish catches pre-storm, and hopefully post-storm that bite will continue. On the North shore, there’s been a steady black sea bass bite that hasn’t been fettered by the wind and waves, though for a while the Sound has been looking pretty ugly and few if any boats were fishing the Long Island side. On Wednesday, when things finally layed down for a moment, there were quite a few boat anglers pulling up sea bass from the boulder fields close to shore. 

While things have been a bit quiet as most anglers have battened down the hatches waiting for better weather, the first week of October is looking like excellent fall fishing weather and I’m confident I’ll have a lot of success to share and write about in next week’s report. 

So until then, thanks as always for reading – and tight lines.  

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