Mid Summer Report

Well…this week’s fishing scene finally forced me to tie on a bite tippet. There are just too many bluefish around and not enough time to tie replacement flies for all the ones they destroy. The beaches of the Sound, the beaches of the south shore and all offshore locations on both sides of the island are packed with our favorite yellow-eyed devils. North-side bass seem to have temporarily abandoned the shallows in favor of deeper haunts but early morning and nighttime excursions have yielded some nice fish for fly and light tackle fans. Before the last blast of tropical heat many of the backwater areas off the Sound had reached temperatures of about 80 degrees. And it is only going to get hotter. That level of water warmth is more conducive to bonefish, snook and redfish, so the stripers as well as the bait sought cooler water. The south shore bass bite continued at a solid pace with massive hordes of bunker spread out from west of Fire Island Inlet out to Shinnecock Inlets. This past week big bluefish in the 12 to 14-pound range found the bunker and most often beat the bass to the bait. Light tackle angers have been enjoying that action. While bluefish and fluke continue to dominate the daytime programming inshore, bass have settled into their mid-summer feeding patterns. It’s been flies and plugs at first and last light and under the blanket of darkness. Mostly school-sized bass in close with a few teen-sized fish. Bait dominates right now on offshore structure. About this time in the season my thoughts begin to turn to the arrival of Atlantic bonito to the shore of Long Island. The bait and water temperatures are conducive to attracting these pelagics once again so keep your eyes peeled for these hydrodynamic rocket ships. They are one of the finest fly and light tackle game fish that visit our area. Stay tuned.