STRIPED bass, sea bass, bluefish and porgies will have to make up for the absence of fluke fishing for the next two weeks. They should be able to fill in nicely.
The fluke season will reopen July 3, and in the meantime anglers
should be able to pound on the stripers and blues, especially along the South Shore of Long Island.
The weather has kept some anglers home, but those who fished have been rewarded. In Jamaica, there are bass being taken late in the day by the bridges, and blues have been popping up throughout the day and anglers have attacked them using tins.
Stripers are also at the Breezy Jetty and points east. Party boats fishing late in the day and early evening have scored with stripers up to 24 pounds.
Most of the bass and blues are under the bunker schools, and they stretch from the Rockaways to Debs and Jones inlets.
Local wrecks in the New York Bight hold healthy amounts of sea bass and some porgies.
In the western Sound, there has been good striper action at Execution Light and over to Mamaroneck. There are also bluefish throughout the area, usually on top of the bass and under the bunker. There are also bass being taken near the City Island Bridge and over to Turtle Cove.
Porgies are also on the menu for Sound anglers: Party boats targeting these fish did well with some scup, getting upwards to three pounds.
Private boats fishing for scup found them off Rye and Larchmont in Westchester. The limit on scup is currently 10 per man for all anglers. Starting Sept. 1, if you fish from a charter or party boat, you can take 45 fish per day.
Another hot spot for porgies has been in the Peconics, where there is fishing off Roses Grove with fish to four pounds being taken.
There are bass and blues being caught in Great South Bay, as well, and the wrecks and reefs along the South Shore are giving up a mix of sea bass and porgies.
Party boats from Freeport and Captree will be doing either sea and porgies or bass and blues until the fluke season reopens.