Good Bay Fishing

We have had quite a good run of nice weather, with not much rain; however, the wind seems to come up most afternoons. The weatherman is saying we will have another couple of days of very warm weather this week. The Farmers’ Almanac predicts air temps to be 1 degree below average and precipitation to be 1 inch above average.

The bay temps are in the mid-60s, and the fishing continues to please most anglers. There still is a great run of porgies in Noyac and the Peconics. Fish of all sizes up to 16 inches are filling the bucket. Most days, you can catch all you want drifting with squid and clam bait. If you want to do a bail job, anchor and chum.

The bluefishing action has slowed down at Jessups. Those larger fish have moved to the west to spawn. The bluefish run looks promising for the upcoming snapper season. Even though fluke fishing has been slow, there are signs of it picking up. Some fluke have been caught at the Greenlawns and the north side of Shelter Island. There are striped bass at the ferry slip for the trollers.

Beach casters have been catching a few fish in the local channels and creeks. Better bass fishing is at Plum Gut in the Race. The nice weather saw huge fleets of boats at both places. Weakfishing remains good throughout the local bays. Fish up to 5 pounds on hi/lo squid rigs on the drift are catching fish. You can also use light jigs and teasers.

Good news is, there are some blowfish being caught from the local beaches. These are such great table fare and should be enjoyed while they last. The good fishing should continue as the waters warm.

I had some added attractions this week while out fishing: A couple of bald eagles were harassing two ospreys for their fish. We also had some low tides this past week. It was a good time to get some holiday clams and oysters.