Health & Fitness
Warming Weather, Hot Fishing!
Great Fishing In Port Jefferson. Striped Bass, Fluke and Porgies are all running strong. Large numbers of fish being caught for the last few weeks, get out there and join the fun!
Good fishing has been reported for the last few weeks with great catches of porgies, Fluke and striped Bass. Porgies are great fun on light tackle and can be easily caught by all. Rocky areas, hard bottom areas or an area that has a ledge or drop off is the place to be. A little chum in the water can also go a long way. Chumming is a strategy that involves placing a frozen block of ground bait in moving water (running tide), which will thaw and in turn draw fish to you. When they arrive, your baited hooks will be waiting for them. Rocky Point is an area that has been on fire recently with many full limits achieved (20 fish pp).
Fluke fishing has been good also with lots of Sea Robins mixed in. Many fish will be short on the legal size limit (19.5") before keepers are caught. Of course this is not necessarily a bad thing because most of us enjoy the bending of a fishing rod and the excitement to see what we have caught. I guess catching that keeper is a little sweeter when he finally comes up. Fluke fishing is easy! Just find a shoal or area that rises up from the depths to a shallower, flatter area where the tidal water moves over the bottom structure (shoal). These flat fish lie on the bottom, camouflaged to the color of sand, just waiting for bait fish to be swept toward them. This is why fisherman drift there baits along the bottom until these flatties scoop it up. Fisherman use lead sinkers and trail there baits or they use buck tail jigs, sometimes one above the other, tips with spearing, squid or artificial baits.
Striped Bass have been cooperating nicely for the last 6 weeks, if you were fishing the correct areas. In the early spring, the local harbors heat up more readily than the Long Island Sound and for this reason, you will find the Bass congregating in the shallower bays. There are many ways to fish for Bass and they all work at any given time. However, if you ever fished for Bass before, you will most likely agree when I say, you can not be guaranteed where to find them year round. Often Bass can be found for several weeks in an area and then move out after a storm front moves in. Seasoned fisherman know this well from their countless times of having great fishing followed by absolutely nothing following a major change in weather. When you hear of a great report, get there and get in on the action because it could be gone tomorrow. Bass feed on a moving tide just like all fish and because of this fact, you must understand the tides. Bass will sit in an area where they can achieve two things. One, the current will bring the bait to them and two, they can hide behind something so that they do not have to expend much energy. Bait fishing is done by finding a location that has structure, bait and current flow. Place your boat in a location so that you can lob your baits in to a productive area. Some fisherman will drift their baits over a productive area as detailed above. Trolling is another great way to catch Bass. Dragging your lures behind the boat over productive areas will produce for sure. Choose lures that replicate the bait that the Bass are feeding on. Keep your lures close to the bottom. Bass tend to hug the bottom and if your lures are to high, forget about catching Bass. A rule in Bass fishing is to go as slow as your boat will allow. Most lures will be trolled between 2-4 mph. Trolling also is a great way to find where the fish are. You will learn where the fish are feeding and soon realize that fish feed in certain areas only. Mark these areas and before you know it, you will have many hot spots to try.
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Good luck and get there while the fishing is good!
Capt. Eric R. Huner
