Posted September 18

Nor'east Roundup

Water temperatures around Long Island were still in the low 70-degree range last week. The only exception was the East End where the numbers dipped below 70 to around 67 degrees on Sunday. The cooler water is probably what triggered the Montauk bass blitzes of two weeks ago. Things were a little quieter at Montauk last week, but only a little. There was still bass action from Turtle Cove around to Clarks Cove. A couple of 20-pounders were in the mix, but most of the bass, though keepers, were under 15 pounds.

This is all great fly rod action, but what lured most fly rodders out east last week was the many false albacore popping up almost everywhere.

Ken at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor reported that the little tunny were in hot and heavy east of the Gardiners Island Ruins over the weekend. The area around The Ruins also held false albacore, along with bluefish and bass. As for Montauk, Ken said that the afternoons were the best for shore anglers, targeting bass and blues. High tide came at around noon after Wednesday's windy weather, so it looks as if the outgoing water helped to set up the blitz scenario.

High tide moves to around sunset by Wednesday of this week, so dusk might prove to be the best time to try fly fishing on the Montauk beaches. The full moon hits on Saturday, September 23, and everything could be in place for even better bass action.

Eel patterns might be a good choice for night fishing at Montauk this week. Other bait in the area includes small "rainbait" and 2-inch squid. This is also the time of the year when we start seeing more small crabs at Montauk. The crabs often go unnoticed, but, if you look closely, you can usually see them rolling in the gentler waves, such as you normally find at Shagwong. Bass will feed on the crabs close to the shoreline and a crab pattern can work well during the late summer and early fall.

Earlier last week, the false albacore were coming close to shore at The Lighthouse and on the south side at the radar tower. It's unusual for the little tunny to come within casting range in any sort of numbers, but there might be so many of them in our waters that the competition for food has grown intense. In other words, be prepared to switch your tackle to false albacore at any time.

Though the North Fork had action on the northeast side of Gardiners Island, the Sound side was still waiting for the false albacore to show up in numbers. Anthony at Wego Fishing reported that Spanish mackerel were still around, and both bass and bluefish activity were gradually increasing.

Some of the little tunny and bonito might have by-passed The Fork because both gamefish were reported to be on the beaches from from Mount Sinai to Riverhead. Otherwise, small bluefish continued to dominate that portion of Long Island Sound, but some larger choppers are moving in on the peanut bunker.

Mike at the Camp Site Sport Shop in Huntington said false albacore showed on the east side of Smithtown Bay on Sunday, but it was a quick window. The fish were there and gone quicky. "The local harbors are loaded with bait," Mike said. "It's mostly bluefish mostly on them, but bass could be around soon."

Capt. Ken Kuhner at Cold Spring Outfitters had a charter out east on Sunday and reported false albacore in solid at Shagwong. Locally, Ken said that big blues were moving in Huntington Harbor and the Centre Island Reef started to produce some nice stripers last week.

Back on the South Shore, weakfish were active in the Fire Island area last week. It may soon be the last hurrah for these gamefish that gave us quite a good show this season. There was no word of mullet moving to the outside yet, but that should happen soon. However, baitfish aren't in short supply. Bill Witchey at Combs Bait & Tackle said that the peanut bunker were thick from Wansers Cut to Diamond Shoals and and other locations also reported thick concentrations of the baby bunker.

South Shore action was on the slow side last week due to the weather, but bonito, false albacore, nd small bluefish provided a lot of action at Breezy Point, while striped bass and weakfish were at Nortons Point. Staten Island fly rodders reported slow going, again, due mostly to the weather and sea conditions.

In the western Sound, bonito were off Hempstead Harbor on Sunday morning and bluefish to just under 10 pounds were in the bays and harbors. Bigger blues are also in the area, but most were laying low last week.

With the exception of Montauk, conditions are still not quite right for striped bass. But, baitfish, particularly peanut bunker, and in good supply everywhere, and all we seem to need is some good weather and dropping water temperatures.