Noreast.com, Western Sound 7/8

• Captain Joe from Moontide Charters started out his Friday morning trying to get a bunker into the boat in one piece. “It was a great morning, and my clients had a ball watching the bunker get attacked by 10-pound blues right at the boat,” Joe said. All the action took place right in Manhasset Bay. The bite started slowing as the sun got up, so Captain Joe headed over to Matinecock and started fluking. It didn’t take long for the fish to cooperate, and the group ended up with 8 keepers to 22 inches, along with a bunch of throwbacks. All the keepers were loaded with sand eels. Give Captain Joe a call to book his boat and fish the Flukemania Tournament aboard the Moontide this weekend.
• John at Glen Cove Sports also reported an upswing in fluke and porgy action this week. The porgies seem to be anywhere the bluefish aren’t! That includes any rock pile or shallow water spot you would normally find blackfish. The fluke have been showing off the local points in good numbers. Frank Rosario landed over 60 porgies to 3.21 pounds while fishing clams outside Hempstead Harbor. Jimmy V. limited out on fluke to 23.5 inches while fishing Peruvian spearing off Prospect Point. The bass and bluefish continue to dominate anglers’ attention, especially now that they can be found working the massive schools of bunker in the western Sound. Bob Greco dropped his jigs down as soon as he started marking fish in mid-Sound. It didn’t take long to boat 10 bluefish to 8.4 pounds. Mitch Wergiles chunked up 10 bluefish to 12.12 pounds, along with a 40.3-pound striper! Jim Weber landed a beefy 38.8-pound linesider while fishing in 50 feet of water at the mouth of Hempstead. “It’s a great time to try different tactics and techniques,” John said.
• Captain Tim from the Northstar II had a bittersweet week. “We are doing very well with the bluefish and bass during our night trips,” Tim said. The unfortunate flipside to the awesome bluefishing is that the porgies are swimming for their lives! “It seems like all the porgies are just scattered and hiding in the shallow rock piles,” Tim said. Judging by the reports from the bait shops, his assumption is right. Hopefully with all the bunker around the bluefish will be keyed in on them and the porgies can get back to their normal feeding grounds.
• John Knight at Hudson Park B&T was happy to report that the fluke bite is on the upswing. “We are seeing good fishing coming off Hewlett’s, Barkers and Hart’s Island,” John said. There was also a good bite earlier in the week off Matinecock and Sand’s Point. The bass bite is still red-hot, but the fish seem to be smaller in size. There are also plenty of bluefish mixing in with these “cookie cutter” bass, so make sure you have your wire leaders handy for when they do start showing up.
• The porgies are starting to thicken up on all the local rock piles and small pieces of structure that they can hide behind! John had one scup come through his shop that measured 17 inches! “Now is the time to get out and beat the heat! Go fishing!” John said, and I couldn’t agree more. Don’t forget to stop in and see John for everything you need to catch that winning fluke in the Flukemania Tournament this weekend.
• Captain John Marino from American Sportfishing Charters enjoyed a great week of fishing. Not only was Captain John putting his clients on fish, he was also doing some of his instructional trips teaching good anglers how to become great anglers! Ken Torreggiani and his son Joe signed on for one of these trips and they weren’t disappointed. The father and son team ended up hammering bass to 23 pounds, along with a mess of bluefish, and learned a little bit about the ferocity of bluefish and how to capitalize on it! Congratulations to Dr. Greg Gulbranser, who landed his first ever striper, a nice 23-pounder on a live bunker. The group also landed bluefish to 14.5 pounds, and they had a ball with some top-water artificial action!
• Dave Palmer, his wife Sue, brother Phil and son Danny (9-years-old) had a great trip with Captain John. Phil was the first to hook up with a beautiful 20-pound striper. It wasn’t long after that first fish that Danny was on. After a long struggle the fish finally came to the net and it was another beauty at 23 pounds, and everyone couldn’t have been more excited! Captain John Marino is running these instructional trips all week long, and they are much more enjoyable without all the weekend traffic. Also give Captain John a call to book his boat for the upcoming Noreast Flukemania Tournament, where you cannot only learn a thing or two about fluking, but also take home the top prize!
• John at Jack’s B&T reported another awesome week of fishing in the western Sound. Tony “Sandpiper” and Jim Cedanio left John’s shop with squid and spearing, and returned a few hours later with 8 fluke to 23 inches. Cord and Freddy headed out with some fresh bunker and landed over 15 stripers to 30 pounds, keeping their limit. The bass and blues have been very thick off Orchard Beach, Execution and Hart’s Island. Ron Harding landed a beautiful 30-pound striper while fishing off Pea Island. There were also bluefish to 12 pounds attacking anything that was hitting the water. Captain Frank V. headed out to Matinecock with four of his clients and they returned with their limit of porgies to 3 pounds. Heavy chum has been the key to putting together a decent catch of scup. Stop in and see John and the gang for everything you need to take the top spot in the upcoming Noreast Flukemania Tournament.
• Captain Chris from the Island Current Fleet had a ball this week jigging up bluefish from 32A to Oak Neck. The night bite has also been very productive, with bass to 30 pounds coming over the rails. The best night of the week was Jeff Ruffler’s bachelor party, which ended up netting over 15 keepers in 35 feet of water outside Hempstead. Matty Budweiser and his group enjoyed a decent pick of fluke in the morning, then threw on the jigs and hit the bluefish off 32A. Samantha Dugan and her group also enjoyed some very good fluking off Sand’s and Prospect Points. Mark Eyman and his party did a night trip, where they hammered the bluefish just west of Hempstead. Friday was the best day of the week as far as fluke goes, with most anglers scoring their limit of quality fish. Captain Chris has both boats available for private charter, with some very good mid-week rates. You could also get your own group together and book the whole boat to fish the Noreast Flukemania Tournament this weekend.
• Captain Steve from the Molly Roze was happy to report that the bass fishing remains red-hot. “We had another great week, with fish to 40 inches becoming more common,” Steve said. These fish are stretched from Captain’s Island to Hempstead Harbor. There are also plenty of teen-size bluefish in the mix. Get out and enjoy the bass bite with Captain Steve before the water warms up too much and the fish move east. (Craig Koproski)