Bill Czech at Jamesport Bait and Tackle in Mattituck figures crabbing off docks and in coves of the Peconics couldn’t be better with snappers in local creeks as well. The Bay also has good scup fishing with weakfish and “kingfish” (northern whiting) thrown in. Only puffers (“blowfish”) are pretty much missing. For scup try Buoys 22, 30 and four, but don’t neglect the docks. Striper action continues off Hortons Point in about 30 feet of water with live eels the ticket to success. Montauk action on fluke and sea bass is “on fire”, and the One Mile Reef off Shinnecock also kicked in last week.
Steven at WeGo Fishing in Southold told us the good Peconic action extends all the way to Noyac, and also that Jessups Neck has a lot of cocktail bluefish close to the top, marked by diving birds. Bait chunks yield blues off Kenneys and McCabes beaches on the Sound with scup concentrated off Rocky Point, East Marion. Action in the Gut and the Race has picked up again on the August full moon, especially the night bite of stripers on ebb tide. During the daytime, look for “bluefish city” in these areas, too.
Captain Scott Jeffrey at East End Bait and Tackle in Hampton Bays explained the reef fishing off Shinnecock wasn’t consistent, and fluke action there was “over” on Tuesday morning. Bait off ocean beaches continues to focus school stripers and bluefish, but there’s a lack of bait in Shinnecock Bay itself. Sharking is quite good offshore within seven miles of the beach, while the Coimbra wreck still holds tuna, especially for anglers using jigs during the daytime.
Captain Dave Brennan called the scup totals aboard the Peconic Star II out of Greenport “very good,” but feels he’s working about three times harder than usual for August to make the catches look easy. There are tons of throwback sea bass released by his fares, too.
“Bucktail” Steve at the Rocky Point Fishing Stop took a trip off Montauk to the Frisbees and scored with fluke to eight pounds plus a limit of sea bass. He liked the Middle Grounds of the Sound for nice sized porgies, but saw only a few stripers from that area. Local beaches have scup as well as snappers; again, bass from the gravel are few and far between.
