September Update • Great time For Fluke • Weakfish Return In Force • Offshore Is Hot • Easy Snapper Recipe

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With the cooler weather and cooling water temperatures things have started to pick up along the souths shore inlets, beaches and bays.  Striped Bass reported from Shinnecock, Moriches and Fire island inlets with reports of Bass being landed off the beach in the Davis park area as well.

Bass fishing continues to excel around the island with anglers catching plenty of fish in all size classes. In particular , The inlets ihave been holding plenty of slot and over slot fish , local bridges like smiths point have also been showing a great pick of bass. Most anglers have reported catching these fish on bait like live eels and clam bellies. One local angler reported good bass fishing on Moriches inlet using clam chum. When fishing a bridge like smith point the best method would be to use a jig head with a small bass assassin plastic, the white and albino shad are typically the most successful colors.

As the bass bite heats up so does the bluefish bite. Anglers in the great South Bay have reported tons of cocktail sized bluefish. The best way to catch blues this size would be small diamond jigs and kastmasters basically anything that is fast and shiny. Larger blues have been caught in our inlets like Shinnecock Inlet and moriches. When fishing for bluefish in the inlets using bucktails is a great and effective method to catch these gator sized fish.

Are you ready to reel in some weakfish this fall? The  Peconic Bays and Great South Bay are teeming with activity during the fall run, making it the perfect time to head out for some exciting fishing adventures. To make the most of this season, it's important to know which lures are most effective for targeting weakfish in these areas.  Ron and Pablo fished during the week and reported constant action!!!

In the Great South Bay there has been a surprising run of Weakfish in the last few weeks. Drifting and slow jigging a small single hook diamond jig tipped with either squid strips or spearing has been very effective with some anglers having success with Gulp as well.  

Fluke have been mixed in with the weakfish "tide-runners" as well using this method. Many of the Fluke fisherman are landing some impressive keepers. Most of the south shore action is from Shinnecock bay to Moriches bay.  Keep in mind Fluke Season is still OPEN till October 15th.

Fluke fishing is still on fire with keeper fish being caught all over the south shore. In recent weeks fluke have pushed in to the great South Bay near bouy 34 which is bluepoint and bayport. Fluke fishing in other places like moriches and Shinnecock bays has also been great with many anglers reporting plenty of keepers. Just like the fluke there has been tons of weakfish caught near bouy 34 with many anglers reporting good sized fish. The best way to catch both these fish would be bucktail rigs with squid and spearing. Weakfish tend to favor the colors white and pink so gulp in this pattern is a great choice. In recent days there has also been plenty of fluke and weakfish caught at our local docks including sayville and mascot

The Albie blitz has begun on both the north shore and south shore with fish caught at local places like mount sini and Shinecock inlet. The best way to catch albies would be lures like deadly dicks and tubeless diamond jigs. These fish love fast moving shiny baits making those lures a Perfect choice for these fish.

Albies are in  at the south shore inlets. Action on the incoming tides has let to some good fishing. The hot lures of the week have been Shimano Coltsniper jigs Deadly Dicks,  Joe Baggs Resin Jigs,

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Offshore:   Mahi mahi  about 15 miles out on any floating debris. Mahi can be caught using light spinning gear with top water plugs or small soft plastics.  Cole (with Kevin and Tommy.) reports 

Yellowfin has also been plentiful around the tip of the Hudson Canyon. The current yellow fin regulations are 3 fish a man per day at 27 inches from the lower jaw  to the fork of the tail.   Cole and crew had them on jigs 

When tuna are found on dolphins top water tuna poppers are a fun and effective way to catch them. Tuna are feeding on sand eels, so jigs are working very well.   Click Here: Tuna Time ID Chart Commonly Confused Mackerel & Tuna Species

Shark and Tuna Fishing? A Permit is Required: 

 Tuna Guide (PDF)   

Permit Descriptions: All owners/operators of vessels in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean must obtain a federal permit to recreationally or commercially fish for regulated Atlantic HMS (sharks, swordfish, tunas (bluefin, bigeye, albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack), and billfishes (recreational only; white and blue marlins, sailfish, and roundscale spearfish)

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At the Local Docks from Shinnecock to Sayville, reports of large snapper blues.  A few weakfish in the mix too. This is a great time of year to go snapper fishing. Not onle are they plentiful, they are BIG!!!

If you enjoy crabbing, try and get down to the docks at least one more time. They are still around and are rather big this time of the year. Patchogue's Mascot Dock Pine Neck Dock and Bluepoint ( Corey Beach) are all good ones to try out.

Easy Snapper Recipe:
Snappers are a tasty fish and are best prepared using simple ingredients. Snappers around 10"s are the perfect size to cook. After gutting the fish remove the head and tail then scale the fish. Wrap in tin foil with a pat of butter or olive oil and seasoned with a small amount of Garlic Powder (NOT Garlic Salt) and a small slice of lemon. Cook on your BBQ grill for about 5-6 minutes at high heat flipping the wrapped tin foil packet half way through. Adobe seasoning, Old Bay or any of your favorite seasonings can be substituted for the Garlic powder, remember less is more with this recipe you don’t want to overpower the taste of the fish.

Plenty of cocktail blues down at the inlets as well. They have actively been feeding on mullet. small tins , YO-ZURI mag darters and kastmasters have all been working well. Some schoolies bass have been in the mix too. TACKLE TIP: Try using a bucktail to get down under the blues for some of those bass.

Don't overlook the possibility of catching some large porgies down at the inlet. They have mainly been taking sandworms and clam. These are some of the largest ones ive seen the whole year. The North Shore is still loaded with them also. A little bit smaller but many around. They have been less picky, taking clam, sandworms and squid.

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Sea bass fishing has remained good though there is a ton of smaller fish to cull through to get to your keepers. The fish have been aggressive with Spearing, Squid Strips, and Clam all catching fish. See more info NYSDEC Artificial Reef Guide (PDF)

This weeks reef is the Hempstead reef located 3.3 miles south of Jones beach state park. This is an artificial reef made up of sunken ships, barges and pieces of the old tapenzee bridge. This reef offers excellent fishing for species including seabass, porgy, bluefish, cod and ling at its deepest this reef is 70ft. The best way to fish this spot would be to use bait like clam or squid because of the the mentioned species will eat them. Using clam chum is also a great way to fish this reef. See more info NYSDEC Artificial Reef Guide (PDF)

Fall surf fishing picks:
Ive seen quite a few different types of baitfish in the surf this year throughout my fishing trips. Usually this can be a good sign for the fall ahead. One of the baits ive seen filled in the bays has been needlefish and sandeels. With these bait fish  around we could most definitely bank on some good fall fishing as far as action goes. When I know sandeels are in the water ill throw thin profile baits such as ava jigs, thin profile Charlie Graves  tins and super strike needlefish.

 
What's the difference between a darter and a bottle plug. Get ready for the fall run!!!

Another exciting fall baitfish that we can possibly see this year is bunker. These fish have a tendency to move at times but if you can find them you have a shot at some large stripers. when trying to match a profile of bunker ill cast Super Strike darters,(  Zig Zag), bottle plugs (  Rattl'n Little Neck Swimmer v.3™), and large poppers (  Little Neck Popper™. Usually I find the colors yellow and white to be most productive with this. TIP: On the south shore of long island look for the "north winds." Bunker tend to head straight into the wind so that would end up putting them on out south shore beaches.

 

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Reminder the fall Blackfish season opens  on October 11th for the north shore and the 15th for the south shore.  The shop will be fully stocked with Blackfish Jigs, Rigs, Hooks and Green Crabs.

 

 

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 

 

 

As fall begin to creep in our local freshwater fishing is about to heat up with most of our local lakes including west, swan and cannan. Fishing the lakes is always a safe bet this time of the year. A dozen worms, a float and a hook are all you need to catch fish. Species being caught are PanfishPerch, and Largemouth Bass. The bass are also more than willing to engulf a soft plastic if offered to them.

The best way to trout fish in the fall would be lures like spinners and bait like red worms and even live shiners if you’re hunting those trophy brown trout. In the fall fishing for other species like bass and pickerel is also great at our local lakes with bait like live shiners being the best choice.

This weeks featured lake is millers pond in smithtown . This lake is part of the Suffolk County Parks system,  a great bass lake and is known for holding fish up to 5lbs. This lake is also home to other species like sun fish, perch and pickerel. A great bait for this lake would be power bait, live shiners and night crawlers. This lake has plenty of access all around its perimeter. Lures like top water poppers and rapala Shad’s.


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