Newsday.com: Fishing Forecast

1. Western Long Island Sound: The season slowed this week with blustery conditions, packing more than 30-mph winds, but the season's peak arrives when water conditions cool through September and October.

For now, the bigger bass and bluefish can be found outside of Manhasset Bay. Use fresh bunker for the bass, and bunker or poppers for the bluefish. Fluke have been sighted as big as 12 pounds. Another good spot for bluefish, Jack's Bait and Tackle on City Island reports, is between the Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridges. Look off Sands Point for fluke.

Nancy LoCascio, who registered at R&G Bait and Tackle in Port Washington, won the WICC last weekend by catching a 15.67-pound bluefish right outside of the bay.

2. Huntington/Northport Bays: The fluke are still biting, particularly in the marsh field and Huntington Bay. Those who seek porgies should hang out in about 25-foot deep waters by the golf course of Smithtown Bay.

3. Smithtown Bay: John Lucas hooked a 36-inch, 20-pound bass using poppers. Chuck Bishop and Mike McCarrell teamed up to reel in an 18-pound bass off Stony Brook dock using warms. Jamie Bodie, 12, caught an 8-pound bluefish in the Nissequogue River using bunker chunks. Dave Ciotti picked up a 6 1/2-pound bluefish off Smithtown Bay's Long Beach using poppers. Bass, up to around 35 inches, can be found in the channel. The fluke are on the west side of Cranes Neck.

4. Port Jefferson to Mattituck Inlet: The big fluke have been caught off Wading River. The bigger porgies are coming back closer to the shore, perhaps an indication that the scene is improving. The striper action is still slow. Night fishing produces best.

5. Orient Point to Fishers Island: Peconic Star captain Dave Brennan has battled the fierce wind, but found action in off-the-beaten-path patches. "I had to go hide," Brennan said, "but it paid off." Passenger Nick Monteleone of Commack caught porgies weighing as much as 3.1 pounds using clams.

Prime Time III captain Mike Boccio said the season remains strong for porgies, which can run up to 3 pounds and 19 1/2 inches. The limit increased to 60 - from 25 - yesterday. "It's the bad weather that makes the fishing really good," Boccio said. "It can turn it upside down for one day. It's like oil and vinegar. It makes it better when you mix it up."

Nighttime seems to be the right time for bass fishing. Novices should stick to the porgies.

6. The Peconics and Gardiners Bay: Fluke action remains hot by Gardiners. The bay is loaded with blues, but the game has been small. Snappers by the docks are still the way to go.

7. Montauk Point: The best fluke fishing can be found between 60 and 70 feet deep. Porgies, most heavier than 2 pounds, remain abundant.

8. Shinnecock Bay: The wind gusts have created rough conditions. The fish are still there, but it requires a skilled angler to land them. The fall mixed bag should arrive soon.

9. Moriches Bay: The best time to land fluke will be three hours before and after high tide - especially from buoys 14 to 29 and into Harts Cove. The big snappers are around the bay and on the east side of buoy 31. Stay in the coves for crabbing. Some schools of striped bass have been sighted in the east and west cuts. Clams provide the best chance to reel them in. Bob Armbruster caught two 5-pound fluke in Harts Cove using squids and spearing.

10. Great South Bay/Fire Island Inlet: The bunker have made an entrance and bass should also soon arrive. The fluke action remains hot, particularly west of Fire Island Inlet in 70-foot depths. Those looking to conserve on gasoline, especially given its rising prices, can keep busy with snappers and crabs along the docks. Joey Pellegrino, 15, caught a 20-pounder on his first striper trip last week fishing with clam bellies and bunker chum between the Robert Moses Bridge and Fire Island Lighthouse.

11. Jones Inlet/Western Bays: Fluke, which range from 4 to 6 pounds, remains strong between the Hempstead reef and the steel rack south of Jones Inlet. Roam in waters between 55 and 70 feet deep. Some bluefish have been sighted at the middle grounds, between Cholera banks and the three sisters. Look off the dip of yellowfin and longfin tuna. Baldwin and Oceanside Bays are full of up to 6- to 8-inch snappers and blue claws around the docks. Larry Festa, aboard the Alphis, hooked a 118-pound swordfish in Hudson Canyon using squid at night.

12. East Rockaway Inlet: The deeper holes in Reynolds Channel have produced a few reports of weakfish, but they are on the small side. Up to 4-pounders can be found in the Long Beach bridge area. Reynolds Channel has also yielded a mix of bass and blues. No Time captain Nick Savene caught a mix of nine yellowfins and longfins that weighed up to 95 pounds using sardines in the canyon.

13. New York Bight: There should be plenty of action in Jamaica Bay. Flukes, blues and porgies are all there for the taking. [org pub NY Newsday, by Chris Antonacci]

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