This season has been a rollercoaster of events and its only June 15th. It started out with a so-so Flounder bite. Then the Schoolie Stripers showed up sporadically. We then had Bluefish make a comeback, but disappear for a week or two, then show up again. Fluke fishing in the Great South Bay has never really taken off. It seems to be getting tougher and tougher each year. Last year, at the end of the season we had an awesome Fluke run, but that lasted about 12 days, and was gone as fast as it arrived. Again, the Weakfish bite was the only true bite in town during late May and the first week or so of June.
But here we are June 15th. The Fluke bite is a challenge to say the least, big Stripers haven’t entered the bay and seem to be migrating more than 3 miles out (which has been a pattern over the past 3-4 years), the Weakfish bite has cooled off and moved from their customary holes further back in the bay. And the Bluefish bite has been hot and cold. When they are feeding, its light out…but when they’re not, it takes a lot of effort to get on them.
June 23rd to the Rescue. This is one Black Sea Bass opens up in New York. Adding another species clearly won’t hurt the fishing opportunities.
The Good News – BLUEFIN TUNA! Probably the best bite in town right now. Unfortunately, it isn’t for everyone. Some don’t have the boat for it and others don’t have the stomach for it. But with that said, They’re HERE and not millions of miles away. During the first two weeks of May they were within 8 miles of our shores. Now the concentrated bite is between 20-40 miles from our shores, which nowadays is almost considered Inshore (lolol).
Side Note: Sharking is excellent as well. There are many big Threshers in our waters and the Mako’s are showing up as well. These fish can be targeted as close as 5 miles to 15 miles from our shores as well..
So what do you do today if you want to fish our local waters. CHANGE IT UP. Force yourself to venture somewhere new or places that you know hold fish, but they aren’t your usual go-to-spots. Instead of killing yourself and drifting the RMB, get your butt into the back State Channel, work those vertical cuts like the Amityville Cut, the Lindenhurst Cut. Work the holes along Massapequa…and keep it simple and work the areas/marshes north of Zach’s Bay. If you are a bit east, run to Bellport, Mastic and Moriches. The flat belly action has been more consistent in those waters.
Keep it simple. Keep all the flash in the tacklebox. Go with a simple 3-way set up with Spearing, Sand Eel, Squid Strip or your favorite plastic dangling out there. Keep it slow, these fish aren’t overly aggressive. So one way to increase the bite is to feed some line as you drift and slow down the drift of your bait/rig. Instead of dragging it across the bottom at 1mph or so, feed some line, then pop it, then feed some line… This method will get the lazy ones to take a chance and go for your offering.
Most of All.. Enjoy the water. It’s always better than sitting in the office!