The heat we've been dealing with on land has overtaken the water — not just referring to the temperatures — and fishing activity is as hot as it gets at this pinnacle point in the season.
Boaters can find almost anything they are looking for since bounties from inshore and offshore are not difficult to locate unless the weather is terrible. No boat? Docks, piers and jetties (really too soon for much surf action, but autumnal changes plus migration will get that rolling before too long) are all optimal choices for landing fish these days. The big ones are here and the early fall blitzes aren’t too far away.
The doormat fluke bite continues to be strong for boat fishermen off the Atlantic ocean from Montauk west along most of the island. Out of Shinnecock last Thursday aboard the Hampton Lady, strong winds hampered the boat's ability to hold the bottom and the drift was extremely swift. Regardless of the conditions, the boat still managed to get plenty of quality fluke.
Those on board noted how thick the water was with bait, hopefully an incentive for the fluke to stay around longer. The crew of the Hampton Lady noticed porpoises and sea turtles near the boat, which held the anglers' attention when fishing was difficult due to the strong winds.
Out of Montauk, aboard the November Rain, last Saturday's trip saw 10-year-old Paris, her dad, John, and his friend Ryan fish in the North Rip at mid-tide. The action heated up as young Paris worked her rod until the moment that her striped bass landed on the deck. Since this angling trio wanted only a total of two keeper stripers, the boat switched over to fluking and managed to get one large flattie before heading back to the dock. Now that's a productive fishing trip.
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Fishing continues to be spectacular out at Orient Point as Capt. Sloan of The Black Rock noted that all of his private charters have been limiting out the past few weeks as the fishing in August has been the best he's seen in quite some time. Stripers are big and bountiful to the east as the Brooklyn Girl II, fishing a late week evening charter, had keeper striped bass to 20 pounds with limits gained quickly on a few drifts in the darkness of a flat, rainless calm night on the water. A weekend trip had an angler on board who caught a 46-pound female striper and the fisherman and crew were able to successfully release the heavy fish.
