Weekly Fishing Update From Noreast.com

Bobby at Causeway Bait & Tackle in Wantagh called the fluking "decent" in 50 feet of water off Gilgo. Bay fluke fishing is best at the Big M and back up in Merrick. Sea bass and porgies can now be targeted at the bridges, fun fishing for the family and especially the kids. Crabbing is starting to peak right now and snappers are taking bait and very small tins. Some stripers are being plugged at dawn and dusk. The beach was dead this week. Clam chumming for bass has been picky due to the warm bay water. Robert at Sea Isle Sports Center said the fluking was good in the bay with a lot of shorts and better in the ocean from 30 to 70 feet of water both east and west of the inlet. Porgies have arrived at Guy Lombardo Marina, some going 13 inches. The bass fishing on the West Bar is called a "pick." Some schoolies and shorts are being reported. In Point Lookout, Ted at Ted’s Fishing

Station told me that some bunker pods turned up off Long Beach again early in the week. Cocktail blues have been running up on the flats at the top of the tide and sea bass have moved into the bay with some keepers coming from Reynold’s Channel. Bass can still be bellied at the drains in the bay. Mike Lapham took an 18-pounder Wednes-day. Fluking has "a ton of action" in the bay with a 1/30 keeper ratio. The best Ted saw this week was George Hearnwith four keepers from 30 feet of water east of the Tower. Mordy at West End Bait said the bass fishing was "pretty good" this week. Nick

Parini clam chummed a 32-inch fish Thursday, and Friday one angler live-lined a kingfish for a 45-inch bass. Lots of short bass are showing with some schoolies mixed in. Kingfish and croaker to 3.5 pounds are being taken on the beach with small hooks and clams or worms for bait. Fluking continues to be a ton of shorts with a decent amount of keepers. There is a load of bait on the beach and some false albacore have been sighted off Long Beach.

Tom Jr. at Kwak’s Tackle Shop in Bellmore said the fluke at Fire Island were concentrated in small pods and chasing bait. Anglers catching one day would return to the same spot and find nothing the next. Lot’s of snappers, cocktail bluefish and crabs in the bay and at the docks. Bay fluking is still primarily shorts with some keepers if you work hard. No surf action this week and the bay stripers are mostly shorts now that the water inside has heated up. Sea bass and porgies on the inshore

wrecks and reefs from 40 to 60 feet of water are "phenomenal". Good catches of 2 to 3 pound sea bass have been coming from both the Atlantic Beach and Hempstead Reefs. Linda of Lindenhurst Bait and Tackle reported that Ezra Brezina fished the Watch Hill area with his buddy, Ronnie.

They had 9 keeper fluke to 7.9 pounds on Smokey’s large local spearing. PaulMikolich fished the Robert Moses Bridge on the incoming tide and was rewarded with porgies to 14 inches and fluke to 24 inches. Those were big fluke considering the overall trend towards shorts on the inside this summer. Irwin Wallach piloted the Lady Mary 3 miles east of Ocean Beach and took 15 fluke to 20 inches.

Dogfish inundated the area on Wednesday past the 65-foot depth. Anglers who returned to shallow water faired better. Matt and Val Kennedy of K&K fished the Moriches area and managed several good fluke. Val kept Matt busy taking skates off her line over the course of the day. The Fire Island Reef produced porgies to 15 inches and sea bass to 3.5 pounds. Bluefish fell for fresh clams and squid in conjunction with a good chum slick. Kismet Reef produced keeper porgies, sea bass, and blowfish for anglers using sandworms, clams, and bunker chunks. Anglers who chummed the West Bar used clams to score a pick of stripers. "Spanky" fished the front of Demo for two stripers to 30 pounds. Both fish were released. Snappers and blue claw crabs have arrived in a big way. Crabbers working the Wellwood Avenue dock do not need a license. Those working the Babylon dock must have one. John Miranda and Lucy Staminos each had a great catch of a different sort when they won $50.00 reels in Smokey’s quarter dunk. Bob’s Bait and Tackle had lots of anglers scoring fluke east of the Fire Island Inlet in 60 to 70 feet of water. Fluke bullets, squid and spearing did the trick. Daytime striper chasers livelined porgies; whereas, nighttime anglers favored bunker and eels. Snappers and crabs were all over the local docks providing lots of fun for kids and families. J and J Sports saw most of their fish come in as a result of the efforts of seagoing anglers. The Ocean Beach area near the Moriches produced lots of short fluke. Those able to catch a decent drift made their limit of fish from 20 to 24 inches at a depth of 60 to75 feet. Moriches Inlet anglers used peanut bunker to attract their quarries. J and J reinforced the trend by reporting that snappers were swarming all over the bays and docks.