Blackfish Season Finally Opens • Porgy Fishing Has Remained Solid • Nice Run Of False Albacore

Posted by Bryan Reissig on

 

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Blackfish season finally opens October 15th (October 11th North Shore). This years fall season should be better in both quality and quantity. The shop will be fully stocked with green crabs and all your tackle needs for a successful Blackfish trip. When hitting your favorite Blackfish spot don’t forget to bring your Sea bass gear, the season is still open and the fishing has been very good at the local inlets, wrecks and Artificial Reefs.

The blackfish season is officially open on the north shore and the south shore. Blackfish are a great challenge to any angler and provide an excellent fight. The best bait to use for blackfish would be clam or green crabs. When fishing with green crabs it’s best to cut them up in to pieces by removing the legs and cutting them in half, so be sure to bring a good pair of shears on your next blackfish excursion. The best places to catch blackfish would be places with structure or rocks like inlets or wrecks. The best way to fish green crab would be to use a blackfish jig and let it bounce along the bottom.

With the opening of Blackfish this past week, we are starting to see a steady good pick of fish. Anglers are Targeting these fish with green crabs as the best bait. We prefer to use a Blackfish Jig (weight depending on how deep of water and how Fast the current is moving), letting is sit down on the bottom next to rock piles. You can also fish a Blackfish rig with a sinker. The key to catching these fish is to make a strong hook set and reel the fish out of the rocks as fast as possible. Medium heavy rods are preferred. A strong rod with a good back bone will help pull the fish up and keep him from swimming back down to break you off. 

Small Striped Bass and Blues have been feeding on the large amount of baits in and around the south shore inlets. Try using a small tin with a green tube, this closely mimics a sandeel/spearing and will score fish. Fresh Clam during the day will also land fish.

The fall bass run has officially begun on our island with anglers reporting giant bass from east to west. Right now the fire island inlet has been holding plenty of slot and over sized fish, with most anglers using bait like live bunker. Live bunker is an excellent bait for bass but be sure to remember when using live bunker they must be taken off a treble hook and placed on a circle hook per NYS law. Fishermen have also reported a good bite further east in places like moriches and Shinecock inlets. The open beach has also provided plenty of fish with most anglers using lures like diamond jigs, poppers and darters...

Weakfish are still being caught out west around Fire island inlet. Fishermen are targeting these fish with gulp, squid strips or soft plastics on the drift from their boats.  

Weakfish can still be found all over our bays with many fishermen reporting fish over 20 inches. The north shore and the peconic bay have also been showing a good pick of weaks. The best way to catch weakfish would be a hi-lo buck tail rig with squid strips or gulp. Pink and white gulp seem to work the best for these fish. Lures like swim Shad’s and bass assassins will also work great.

There has been a nice run of False Albacore (Albies) this year along the south shore and North Fork of Long Island. Anglers fishing Hortons Point and Shinecock Inlet  have been successful using  Joe Baggs epoxy jig, Deadly Dick Lures, Charlie Graves Lures and Shimano Coltsniper Luressmall 007 tins have also worked. When fishing from a boat stay outside the schools drifting into the fish or letting the fish come to you, powering up to the fish will only scatter the school and ruin it for everyone.

Porgy fishing has remained solid all season, whether from a boat or from the shore. Fishing the Peconic BaysNorth Shore to Shinecock Inlet has been close to a sure thing when looking for Porgies. Use fresh clam and sandworms on a #2 or #4 Porgy rig, this setup will also land Blowfish, Kingfish, Seabass and the occasional Weakfish.

Porgy and sea bass fishing has been light out recently with our local wrecks being loaded with fish. We have seen plenty of large porgies along with keeper sea bass at the moriches, Shinecock and fire island reefs. The best way to fish these reefs would be bait like clam or squid using hi-lo bait rigs. Using clam chum at these reefs is another great option because it’s easy to do and will bring the fish to you.

This weeks reef of the week is the  Smithtown reef. The smithtown reef is located in the Long Island sound 1.6 miles north west of stony brook harbor entrance. This is reef is 31 acres in size and is 30-40 feet at its deepest. This reef is made up of 2 vessels, 6 barges, steel pipes and concrete cylinders. This reef provides excellent fishing for porgy, fluke and Sea bass. The best way to fish this reef would be to use clam chum and a chum pot . Hi-lo rigs with squid skirts are a great choice for rigs.

Bluefish can still be found all around our area while most have left the docks there is still plenty of cocktail sized fish all over the great South Bay. On the north shore anglers have reported dozens of large blues up to 12 pounds. As the fall run progresses these large fish will be all over the south shore in places like moriches and Shinecock inlets and bays. The best way to get blues would be live bait like bunker or lures such as diamond jigs and poppers.

Surf Report 

From the Surf, the open beach is starting to heat up. A lot of schoolie bass are being caught with some slot sized fish in the mix. late at night guys are start to catch big cow sized bass. typically this time of year since the warm is trending on the warm size these bigger fish are still out east around Montauk and in deeper water, but if you put the time in late at night you can catch your self in a fight with one of these bigger fish.  Bucktails and bottle plugs are what you'd want to be throwing out at these fish.

Schoolie Bass and small Blues are around and have been feeding on sandeels and shad, try using a tin with a green tube, a medium size storm shad or a bone colored SP Minnow. Fishing a Bucktail with a green fat cow strip will also work. If using bait try soaking a bunker chunk of fresh skimmer clam during the day or work.

Fresh Water Report
Bass and Pickerel have been more aggressive with the water temperatures cooling down as me move into fall, try using topwater plugs like a Jitterbug or Hula Popper at first light or casting the shore with a jointed Rapala.
As the sun gets higher try dragging a weedless frog over the pads or use a weedless worm at the edge or in pockets around the pads.
Live Shiners fished with or without a float will also catch fish. Perch, Bluegills and Crappie are also more active with the cooler weather and will attack a small spinner or Beatle Spin fished near any cover. Crappie tend to stay together so if you get one there should be more right in the same area. Fishing a nightcrawler with or without a float is a good way to locate fish.  Nightcrawlers will catch anything from Bluegills, Crappies and Catfish to Perch, Bass and even Pickerel.

This weeks lake of the week is argyle lake in Babylon. This lake is 25 acres in size and has a max depth up to 4 feet. This lake offers fishing for species such as catfish, sun fish,largemouth bass, yellow perch, carp, brown trout and rainbow trout. This lake is stocked yearly with both brown and rainbow trout. This lake is also known to hold bass up to 18 inches. If bass are your primary target bait like live shiners are an excellent choice and are a favorite of bass. Lures like senko worms and swim Shad’s are  extremely effective when it comes to bass fishing.


Tight lines

Send your reports, photos or your favorite fish recipe to: REPORTS@JJSPORTSFISHING.COM

Don't forget to include, names, location and details (when possible: lures or bait used, tides, etc….) comments or questions are welcome. 631-654-2311


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