Sports

Fishing Report

Aboard the Nancy Ann out of Orient by the Sea, Capt. Rich Jensen said he was “scupping” over the weekend with good results. He described hoards of bluefish of all sizes along with a few bass in the daytime; bucktailing is the method of choice to cull bass out of the mix. Nights have been relatively slow, but the last full moon earlier this month was quite good.

At Warren’s Tackle Center in Aquebogue, Chuck said porgy fishing was good along the beach, with some small bluefish early and late. Reports were already coming of bonito and false albacore off Montauk. In the bay, Chuck mentioned scup holding up around Rogers Rock with weakfish early in the morning (before boat traffic picks up) off Noyac. Bluefish to five pounds can be found off Jessups Neck, but the large slammers are best pursued in Plum Gut, Fishers Island Race and off Hortons Point. The South Shore has blues in the ocean with triggerfish appearing off Shinnecock Inlet. Snappers are numerous while crabbing is quite good, although not like last year.

Charlie Caraftis at Charlie’s Mattituck Marina on Mattituck Creek liked scup fishing for jumbo porgies on Long Island Sound reefs and wrecks with sea bass mixed in. However, there are plenty of smaller keeper scup west of the inlet and around the usual spots: Cooper’s Rock, the Beachcomber, and the Firing Range. At Horton’s, bass hunters see gorilla bluefish each day at sunup while Rocky Point and East Marion also has big blues on top.

The report from Matt at the Rocky Point Fishing Stop to the west highlighted Middle Grounds action in 70 to 90 feet of water on blues, mostly seven to 10 pounds with a few over 12. Striper action is much slower. A few bass can still be taken on eels from local beaches at night while chasing small blues is a dawn-dusk proposition for anglers using poppers and tins. Fluke fishing is best in the ocean off Shinnecock and Moriches Inlets.

Phil Loria at Captain Marty’s Fishing Station in New Suffolk said all the livery boats had scup on Saturday with a few kingfish (northern whiting) and lots of blowfish (puffers). Loria has been showing newbies the method of cleaning these latter “chickens of the sea.” East of Jessups are some blues while Roses Grove and the Middle Grounds produce summer weakfish to 20 inches. Nassau Point has a few weaks, too. Crabbing is picking up nicely.