AS THE summer season winds down, anglers look to the big bluefish tournament this weekend in Long Island Sound. The time is right for the 25th Annual WICC Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth, as we are seeing big bluefish to 15 pounds chasing bunker throughout the western portion of the Sound.
The event takes place tomorrow and Sunday with cash prizes totaling over $45,000. For more info and how to sign up, call (203) 366-BLUE.
You can find the big choppers from the bridges to City Island and into Little Neck Bay and Manhasset Bay, Hempstead Harbor, and around Harts Island and Stepping Stone Light.
There was continued good news coming from the canyon runners with decent action of yellowfin, longfin and bigeye tuna at the 100-Square area as well as the Dip and the Fishtails.
Most of the harbors and bays along the South Shore are teeming with snapper blues and blue claw crabs.
Fluke fishing along the South Shore has been a pleasant surprise the past couple of weeks, with a number of 5 pounders coming from Moriches Bay and off Fire Island Inlet in 75 feet of water.
Inside Great South Bay, you can still find a few weakfish off Ocean Beach.
There are still some keeper fluke in Jamaica Bay, and there are some certified doormats coming from Ambrose Channel, but the keeper ratio is about one in 10.
While we are on the subject of fluke, we have to send congratulations to the lady who caught the record fluke. Monica Oswald, a 45-year-old nurse from Neptune, N.J., caught a 24.3-pound, 38.3-inch fluke last Friday while fishing south of the Shrewsbury Rocks off the north Jersey coast. The big fluke, which was weighed in at Scotts Bait and Tackle Shop in Bradley Beach, could be the world record if approved by the IGFA.