Striped Bass Are In!! • Last Chance For Spring Blackfish-Fluke Ready To Open • Porgies Start May 1st-Weakfish Not Far Behind

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Breaking News: Striped bass hit the beach.  Fish have been reported from Smith Point County Park  beach to Patchogue bay . Anglers have reported tacking fish on sp minnows, diamond jigs and shads and Bunker bait!

Over the past week, Striped Bass were reported  from anglers venturing out for the season opening.  The '2025 fishing season has been slow to start but our local waters have slot fish on both the north and south shore. Reports have come in with some slot and over slot fish being caught in the Great South Bay around bait pods . Anglers fishing for Bass at our local docks such as Patchogue's Mascot Dock   and the West Sayville Dock have been using bait such as clam and sand worms.  Bunker and clam  is an effective bait for bass too.  If you prefer to use artificial lures, plugs such as poppers and darters have worked well. Small soft plastics with a jig head will also work.

"TACKLE TIP OF THE WEEK: Try to downsize on the lures and baits you throw small quarter or half ounce jig heads with small soft plastics is perfect to use this time of year , remember elephants eat peanuts " he said.

WEEKEND UPDATE: Bluefish will soon be  in our bay near the smith point bridge  @ Smith Point County Park.  The best bet for bluefish would be lures such as diamond jigs and top water poppers. While these gators will mainly been found near the smiths point bridge and moriches bay, they will then soon move throughout the great South Bay.

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We've only had a few reports of some Flounder being caught, Sandworms and heavy chumming with mussels seem to be the keys to success. Smith point bridge, Quogue Canal are good spring areas to try.

On the Blackfish front, fishing has started to pick up as the water temps increase. Clam seems to be the bait for this spring season. Keep in mind the spring season is a 2 fish 16" limit and closes on April 30th!

May 4th is the opening day for Fluke in New York.   Predictions are that it's going to be a spectacular opening.  So, A couple of fluke rigs and a spearing-squid combo will "do the trick" and hopefully bring home a 10lb doormat. Some good places to start are  Shinecock Inlet  and Moriches bays (Narrow Bay.) 

May fishing forecast will be Weakfish and Bluefish at the local docks.  It's time to try tins or bucktails  or if bait is preferred, use a chunk of bunker or mackerel.

Another favorite of anglers, Weakfish will soon pop up in our local waters. Weakfish are similar in appearance to a sea trout and provide  fun fishing and an even better meal. The best way to catch these fish would be a jelly worm rigged with pink gulp. A great bait for weakfish would be clam or squid strips.

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Porgy fishing begins on May 1st.... Anglers will head to our North Shore and Peconic Bays . The best bait to use for porgy would be sand-worms or clam on a small bait rig with a size one or two hook.The best places to target porgy would be peconic bays, Wildwood State Park and cedar beach both located on the north shore.

On the Freshwater side lakes are fully stocked.  West Lake  is the place to be seeing more trout rising around dusk , this stocking includes the addition of yearling rainbow trout. Anglers have been successful using small gold or silver tins like a Kastmaster fished with a slow retrieve or using Nightcrawlwers and "Dough baits" like powerbait or trout pellets fished on a float with a small hook. In the mix yellowperch have been also picked off on the same baits while trout fishing

The freshwater spot of the week is the Carmans River. The Carmen’s river is located in Shirley and provides excellent fishing for many species such as largemouth and stripped bass, carp , crappie, panfish and trout. This river is stocked with brown trout twice a year and there is plenty of county and state access points to fish. The best bait for this river would be night crawlers and live shiners, both of these baits can catch all of the mentioned species. The river also provides great opportunities for kayaking and hiking.