Hamptons Fishing Report: Fluking in Shinnecock Bay Rebounds

If your children were wondering what to tell their teachers about the highlights of summer vacation, a good fishing story is probably a nice surprise.

Probably the most interesting story of the week involved a kayak fisherman near the Shinnecock Canal Bridge who fished the top of the tide for his only keeper striper. When he gutted it, the stomach contents revealed an intact 8-inch-long mantis shrimp with a lobster-like tail.

These marine crustaceans are neither shrimp nor mantids and are common to tropical and subtropical marine waters. They are extremely aggressive and kill prey with their powerful claws.

Another fisherman in the same vicinity reeled in a bottom-dwelling lizard fish, not uncommon off Florida, the Bahamas and the  Caribbean. While Hurricane Irene is a memory, she's still surprising us with the strange passengers that traveled up the coast.

Scott Jeffrey of in Hampton Bays said that the fluking in Shinnecock Bay has rebounded pretty quickly for those targeting the areas around the inlet.

"Both tides and both east and west channels have produced," he said. "All baits seem to be working. The ocean fluke bite is still way off from where it was a week ago with very few reports of fish but the inlet is also holding some porgies, blues and a few bass along with fluke. The sea bass have been cooperating out on the Shinnecock reef with plenty of keeper-sized fish to go around and the area around the Ponquogue Bridge is also holding some fluke and bass. Most bass have been on the night tides. The snappers are plentiful in the canal around the local marinas and keeping the youngsters happy."

Out in Orient, the fishing has also picked back up since Hurricane Irene, with several local fishermen e-mailing in reports of monster bass and bluefish while fishing the night tide. Ted of Southold reported reeling in a 36-pound striper along with a handful of fighting bluefish to 14 pounds last weekend and Marty K. and a few of his fishing pals had bass to 33 pounds, limiting out last Saturday. "We were throwing back bluefish after bluefish as it seemed we hit them with each drop," he said.

Remember to use caution while boating around the island since there is still a lot of floating debris. Keep an eye out for kayak anglers whose numbers are growing due to their cost-effective lack of need for fuel.
For those fishing on licensed party and charter boats, the porgy fishing bag limit expands to 40 fish per day, starting on Sept. 7. Get ready for the fall surf run and involve your children in our Long Island fishing scene.