It’s a bit like singing the same old tune but Montauk again proved music the fly rodder’s ears this week. The fish, mostly bass, pushed anchovies close enough to the beaches and into the wash for great action with flies. The southside was inundated with bass in close and offshore albies, while the northside saw bass mixed in with hordes of ever-present bluefish. While most of the fish have been mid-sized bass there have been some huge stripers coming within range of the fly rod. A friend’s email to me stated, “At times it looked like the breaking waves contained 90% fish and 10% water!” It doesn’t get any better than that so now is the time to cash in on the action before the bulk of the schools move south. Actually, that has already begun to happen, as there have been quite a number of solid fly catches reported in the vicinity of Shinnecock and Moriches beaches. While the east end should continue to stay hot for a while longer - since fish are still being caught to our north - plying the beaches further south could yield impressive results in the coming days and less angling competition.
The flyrodders on the beaches of the Sound are singing an altogether different tune. The west end of north shore has been producing well with bass and bluefish as those fish stage to move further west into the NY Bight and out to the ocean for their annual trip south. The beaches of the east end from Southhold out to Orient have also been very active with fish, some days providing great fishing, others days a bust. Those fish are beginning to move around the horn to the south side and then down the south shore for their migration down the coast. But the central part of the Sound is quite lethargic at the moment. It’s a coin toss as to whether any meaningful run will still occur, with the exception of fish still in the harbors that will soon begin to move out. Some of those bass and blues will move east, while some will move west. The best advice right now is to move around and don’t stick to just one place waiting for the run to materialize. Take your fly rod on the road and go find the fish. As for the false albacore, nothing of any substance to report on the north shore. If anything, the sightings have been few and far between and no reported catches of merit.
I’ve received some emails about fly choices for this time of year and I’d like to pass along my response: “As far as flies go, the keys this time of year are the various baitfish that are moving long the beach: peanut bunker, mullet, spearing, sand eels, bay anchovies, butterfish, etc. Flies that imitate baitfish in size, profile and coloration will serve you well for most situations. In generic terms you can't go wrong with Epxoy Baitfish, Deceivers, Clousers, Half and Halfs, and an assortment of EP Flies. And mix up the fly lines as well from intermediate lines to high-density sink tips.”
