2016 Long Island Fishing Reports Thread

[nitestrikes]

Opening day is a few days away gents. I have been out scouting the regular spots and there are a lot of bunker. Tightly schooled and in large numbers. Should be a good start when the season opens up. Good luck to all and tight lines.

[stripercrazy]

Counting the days!

[williehookem]

Same for me too

[Monty]

Me too, very excited about this season.
Thinking we Long Islanders start a new thread though with the correct year or are we going stealth 2016 in 2015?

[nitestrikes]

Oops, error. Just tried to fix it but can't. Dark when you get a chance could you please change it to the correct year, thank you.

[Monty]

Oops, error. Just tried to fix it but can't. Dark when you get a chance could you please change it to the correct year, thank you.

:HappyWave:

Won't be long....

http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2015_9_20_SR1.jpg?w=2015

[rockhopper]

Awesome just awesome. Assume that's sunrise to the east?

[Monty]

Awesome just awesome. Assume that's sunrise to the east?
Yes, while incredible I am always a bit bummed that the night has ended.
While out there I would usually start working my way back from the long walk just after the sunrise.

[storminsteve]

What's the over/under that it takes him 2 months to change the thread title?:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Oops, error. Just tried to fix it but can't. Dark when you get a chance could you please change it to the correct year, thank you.


What's the over/under that it takes him 2 months to change the thread title?:HappyWave:

Some of you folks are just impossible to please. :moon::HappyWave:
Fixed it, less than 48 hour turnaround. :)

[Monty]

Headed out for my first trip of the year this AM, fished 1:30 - 10:00 AM.
Was great getting out, need to get back into shape for these trips.
Fished the Sound and ended up with the skunk. One hit and that was it.
Did find a small dead sand eel, otherwise it was dead out there.

http://i0.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2016_4_17_SR.jpg

http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2016_4_17_Sand_Eel_2.jpg?w=850

[rockhopper]

Fished the Sound and ended up with the skunk. One hit and that was it.


The sound was good a week ago but smaller fish. Bigger fish out front right now. I would change location. Just my .02.
Great report as usual and great sunrise. good luck to you this year!

[rockhopper]

Fished the SS last night, first "official" ;) trip of the open season.
Bucktailed a few runts. One bass close to keeper size. And one monstrous bluefish. I thought I had a bass because it was staying deep. Eventually realized it was a blue with the bull dogging and head shakes. They are here fellas you just have to work for them.

[Rip-Plugger]

Fished the SS last night, first "official" ;) trip of the open season.
Bucktailed a few runts. One bass close to keeper size. And one monstrous bluefish. I thought I had a bass because it was staying deep. Eventually realized it was a blue with the bull dogging and head shakes. They are here fellas you just have to work for them.good to see them show up,now the bait will get pushed and packed into the corners.nice werk on yer catching Rock.

[Monty]

Fished the SS last night, first "official" ;) trip of the open season.
Bucktailed a few runts. One bass close to keeper size. And one monstrous bluefish. I thought I had a bass because it was staying deep. Eventually realized it was a blue with the bull dogging and head shakes. They are here fellas you just have to work for them.

Nice first trip Rockhopper. I headed out on my second trip this AM and fished the back side from 3:00 to 9:00. Solid skunk. Didn't see any bait this trip either.
Had a good time, covered lots of water and had my Outlander on the sand for the first time. Handled the sand with ease......a little relief.

[hookset]

Nice report. how does the Outlander handle rocks? thinking of purchasing a used one.Tks

[Monty]

Nice report. how does the Outlander handle rocks? thinking of purchasing a used one.Tks

Not sure how it is on the rocks, here is a video I found on youtube.
Had it on the beach again this AM. Very soft sand and deep ruts and it handled it fine again.
Fished ocean side and an inlet from 1:30 to 9:30 this morning and I am 0 for 2016 (0 for 3).
Skunk-a-rama for me. Great looking water, awesome weather.
Birds picking at some small stuff out about 50 yards in the inlet, otherwise not much happening.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI9lMky5lUU

[williehookem]

Got into a hella lot of big blue fish this morning from 6 to 9 a.m. in JBay. they are huge and they are nasty. Got them on poppers, bucktails, small Ava jigs, and small poppers.
Some buds of mine also did well with stripers on bunker chunks in the night time.Get out there while the getting's good, Fellas!

[7deadlyplugs]

Like the outlander thanks for sharing.

[7deadlyplugs]

SS 4 to 8:30a today. Nailed some decent blue fish, green and red tailed avas. Died when it reached high tide. Saw one small striper caught by a guy using clams. I'm not sure why, but it seems like there should be more strippers around for this time of year. My .O2

[nitestrikes]

Fished 2 hours before sunset into the dark, and one hour after. gotta mess of bigger blues bucktail and pork. right before the sun went down switched to poppers and lost 2 of them on this new Power Pro I put on my reel this week. Will never use it again. Review in the other thread.

[rockhopper]

A few Bluefish up to 10 pounds this morning. One short striper about 24 inches. all on small diamond jig with green tail. This was the SS.

[Monty]

A few Bluefish up to 10 pounds this morning. One short striper about 24 inches. all on small diamond jig with green tail. This was the SS.

2 weeks ago had similar trip Central SS, bass and blue around same size on SS darter and one around 10 pounds on SS popper.
Last Sunday AM hit ocean up in jersey for 1 blue around 5 pounds.
Will make a couple trips to LI this week.

[Monty]

Fished a CSS inlet this morning with a friend from 1:00 to 9:00.
Awesome weather, lots of eel grass in the water until around 7:00 AM.
He picked up a ~30 inch bass around 3:00 AM on a Tsunami sand eel.
I picked up 9 blues 20-24 inch, mostly on Bucktails and Pork. They were deep. Missed a fews hits and dropped a few.
Fished hard and had a very fun time.

[Monty]

Headed out center LI again, fished this morning from 1:00 to 10:30, ocean side and inlet. Ocean side ~22 inch bass around 2:30 on SS needle, 1:30 about same size blue on SS darter. Missed a bunch of hits and dropped a couple fish. Lots of wind in face.
Then around 6:15 I got into some more blues until 8:30, about a dozen most around 30 inches. Again most were deep and used a bucktail. Did get 3 on Roddy's plugs (Thank you!).
Lost more tackle to those blues in those 2 plus hours than the last 2 years combined.
Moved back ocean side and between 9:00 and 10:30 I got another 6 blues up to 34 inches on poppers. Did get a 26 inch bass on an floating needle at 10:10 in the bright sun (that was a surprise, came out of the white water).

Real fun trip despite getting a blue attached to my wader crotch on that first fish. That woke me up.....I took on a bit of water the rest of the trip.

[williehookem]

Fished out east yesterday after the rain. Lots of small blue fish on metal. sandeels around as well. No stripers for me tho. Still the bluefish were fun. My arms are tired.

[williehookem]

Lost more tackle to those blues in those 2 plus hours than the last 2 years combined.

Real fun trip despite getting a blue attached to my wader crotch on that first fish. That woke me up.....I took on a bit of water the rest of the trip.

No offense, but I'll never understand why people throw expensive plugs and lures to blues. get yourself a lot of metal and used bucktails in the winter, you're going to lose them anyway so why pay top-dollar?
sorry to hear aboutyou hooking yourself. Almost seems like you wanted to put your willy out there as an offering to the fish!

[rockhopper]

Lmao sounds like an episode of jackass!

[Monty]

No offense, but I'll never understand why people throw expensive plugs and lures to blues. get yourself a lot of metal and used bucktails in the winter, you're going to lose them anyway so why pay top-dollar?
sorry to hear about you hooking yourself. Almost seems like you wanted to put your willy out there as an offering to the fish!


Lmao sounds like an episode of jackass!

:laugh:
It certainly got my attention quick. Was a small hook hole 1/4", Aquasealed it.
It wasn't really that bad, 5 leaders were shredded, lost one bucktail,couple shads and a plug that Rip-Plugger just gave me.
Headed back out and fished this morning from 1:00 to 10:00.
Had either a 20 MPH+ cross wind or it was in my face, tough conditions.
Fished hard and caught 10 blues from 20 to 25 inches.
Most caught on bucktails, but got 1 on an Ava, another a Rip-Pluggers plug, another on a Darter and popper.
Missed a few hits and lost a few. Was fun as really had to work for them, when was not getting any action would switch up to something else and that would normally get a strike.
Guys that were fishing metal gave up and left when they could not get a hit.
I'm not anywhere close to being an adequate "bucktailer", so catching on them was a lot of fun.
Fished whole time with 1 leader, nothing lost this trip :thumbsup:.
Through a rubber shad at times, not even a bump.

[bababooey]

you guys complain that I am kinky. Hooking your willy is a little freaky. What's next whips and chains on the rocks?:kooky:

[BassBuddah]

Pretty decent spring so far in the back bays. Bass to 27#, blues to 19# all on swimmers. Things have slowed down a bit time to travel out east.

[Monty]

Headed out east, fished north side this morning from 2:15 to 9:00.
Picked up a short bass on a needle around 2:30 and that was it for bass.
Ended up with 16 blues between 20 and 30 inches, they are all over.
Lost a bunch, missed a bunch.
Tried getting below them, most caught on bucktails and darters.
Fun time, nice weather.

[plugginpete]

SS inlet today. All the blues you wanted on bucktails. 3 short stripes as well.

[Monty]

Trip out East, Southside this morning.
2:30-8:30, a mile plus of rock shore,weeds in close and water stained a bit.
Saw no bait or signs of life. Saved from the skunk, one nice blue on a Super Strike Popper.
Solitude, nice night, great to be out there.

[cowherder]

way to go gents. Hearing that the bigger blues have moved to Long Island so I hope you can get some.

[Monty]

Fished way out East Sunday AM, 2:00-8:30.
Major skunk, first one in 8 trips, amazed at lack of action.
Water was full of weeds in close in most areas, saw no one and no bait.
Heck of a workout, looking forward to next trip.

http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2016_6_26_M_SS_5.jpg?w=850

[rockhopper]

ss from 4am to sunrise. incoming water, not that many weeds.
Threw bucktails, plugs, tins, and big wood. bondy's and Below around 9 pounds at 5:30. Where did all the stripers go? Even Captree boats have been striking out. May have to drive out east after this holiday weekend.

[Monty]

Fished SS ocean and inlet this morning 1:00-8:30.
Started ocean side to, worked way to inlet, covered 2 miles. No action, maybe a bump or two.
Sand Fleas out the wazoo ocean side in the dark.
Weedy inlet.
Fished hard for 3 cocktail blues on Ava and Super Strike Darter after sun up in the inlet.
Worked way back and found nice rip ocean side, nice gator on Super Strike popper. Lost another one there too.
Having difficulty finding stripes.


http://i0.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016_7_3_SF.jpg

[Monty]

Went for a long ride this morning, fished from 2:15 to 10:15.
Only managed 2 Blues, one was just over 30 inches, they are fun. Lost 1 gator missed a few hits and swirls. Had a couple schools of bunker around 9:00 AM show up. Lots of weeds especially at night on the outgoing. Crazy dark night out there. Fun trip. I be having issues finding stripes.
First time that I took Outlander on this beach, it has been great in the sand :thumbsup:

http://i0.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016_7_10_Outlander_Montauk.jpg?w=850

[captnemo]

Try montauk. A buddy of mine just came back and said they were catching stripers in the rips to 40 pounds during the day time. Early morning was best. Good luck.

[rockhopper]

Spot on capt. Fished out east this
morning from 3 till 7 a.m. A few stripers to 36", and some good blue's for about a half hour in the.he morning. All on needlefish. Fish on!

[williehookem]

Cool thanks. might head out there this afternoon.

[Monty]

Headed out east again, fished this morning 2:30-8:30.
Fished ocean side, nice light surf but loads of weeds/dung almost everywhere.
Cleaned line and plug off almost every cast, got somewhat better near end of trip.
Around 6:30 on the back side of a wave I caught a ~32 inch bass on a Super Strike yellow popper.
That was it, saw no bait.
Talked with a couple guys who fished the complete night with rigged eels, they had caught a few blues.
Fun trip, foggy, covered ~1 1/2 miles of rough terrain...., great to see stripes for a change, looking forward to next trip.

http://i0.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2016_7_17_Surf.jpg

[cowherder]

Nice catch on the striper. Rigged eels 4 blue fish? Ouch!

[Monty]

Nice catch on the striper. Rigged eels 4 blue fish? Ouch!
Thanks, bass are around out there, but not easy finding them.
This morning I hit the water 2:15 and finished up around 8:45.
There was mung amongst us, had to get out 10-30 feet to be relatively free from it.
~2:45 I hooked into a solid fish on a darter, made 3 slow runs then shook the hook.
Missed a few hits ~5:00 caught a gator around 37 inches, awesome fight, it got into some current....awesome fun.
Then I lost 4 fish in a row. Ended up with 5 blues, others around 30 inches +/-. Lost or missed 2x that.
Lots of what looked like small spearing hugging the shore line. Blues came through quickly 1x slamming something, ended up catch one on a long cast with a Sper Strike Popper during that.
Looking for Bass, but this trip was great fun with the blues, they were on roids. Had to work hard for them and it was a great time out there fishing.


http://i2.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016_7_24_Gator_1.jpg?w=850

[nitestrikes]

Nice work. I fished out east Friday night. a few Bass to mid teens on needles and darters. also got into some big blues as well. If you wade out a bit on the rocks you can avoid some of the weed.

[Monty]

Last Tuesday,AM again out there and 2 large blues around 7:00 AM on SS Popper.
Wasn't feeling great and only fished a few hours
This morning 2:00 to 9:00 South Side this time,missed a fish on a Hogy around 3:30, then a 30 inch bass on a bottle darter and a 25 inch bass on a SS popper, also lost a fish. Good to see stripes for a change, fun and a heck of a workout on the rocks.

http://i2.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016_7_31_Surf1.jpg?w=850

[williehookem]

Nice report thanks for sharing.
haven't been fishing a lot lately because of so many weeds. Will be out again after the next new moon.

[nitestrikes]

Good going. Fish are there in spurts, have to work for them. Way to put the time in. Fished out east yesterday afternoon Into the night. started off with a few teen blues on poppers. As you said they were far out. After dark some white bait came in close. Picked up a few stripes to mid-teens on darters. long night but worth it. Good luck gents.

[williehookem]

wtg fellas tx for the heads up.
Made the drive out east this morning, fished sunrise till 8 a.m., picked up a few monster gators on poppers. Saw no stripers caught, but did talk to a guy who has been doing well on eels. surprisingly light crowds for a Saturday.

[Monty]

Nice reports guys.
Headed way out again this AM, fished 2:15 - 9:00.
Nice night, calm surf. Mung up the wazoo.
Picked up 5 shorts between 20 and 26 inches, Hogy, darter and 3 on the Blitzseeker.
Missed a few hits, fun trip. Found some bunker that was washed up, missed that by a few hours I guess.
Did not see any blues for the second straight trip.
Good time as always, my balance on those rocks is laughable.


http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016_8_7_SB_Surf_4.jpg?w=850

[rockhopper]

Dude I think I see your problem, you're fishing the boulder fields and not the ocean LOL! You gotta get way out further to get some decent stripers. Blue fish are there but they are also at the end of the cast. Tackle shops had some nice weigh ins this past week. Get yourself a wetsuit. good luck!

[Monty]

Dude I think I see your problem, you're fishing the boulder fields and not the ocean LOL! You gotta get way out further to get some decent stripers. Get yourself a wetsuit. good luck!

LOL, have a wet suite and do go out further.
Started getting out on the rocks a bit last year, heck of a learning experience.

[surfstix1963]

HA.. I knew you would be suiting up,careful those rocks hurt like hell
LOL, have a wet suite and do go out further.
Started getting out on the rocks a bit last year, heck of a learning experience.

[J Barbosa]

You should try a bucktail :headbang:

[williehookem]

You should try a bucktail :headbang:
times 2 I totally agree. Don't you ever use bucktails Monty? I know you said there's a lot of weeds, but when the tide is strong and you have a good sweep, bucktails are killer. Bucktails and darters. hope that helps.

[williehookem]

Fished out east late last night. I wanted to time it with the high tide but damn the tide was so late I am dragging at work today. 5 Bass to 38 inches, most were small but one nice one. All released. 38 incher hit a yellow darter.

[BassBuddah]

To the east before the holiday. been very busy with work and wanted to get some fishing time in so I went Wednesday night. the rain was tough and I had to sit in for a while until it stopped. Blue fish in the five to eight pound class, scattered on poppers. Then I picked up a few runt stripers in the first half hour before sunrise on needle fish.
Good luck this weekend folks it's going to be crowded.

[nitestrikes]

congrats on the catching gents. Friends of mine were there this weekend. Seems like action has heated up a little bit. Boats are doing well with scattered fish along the shoreline.

[nitestrikes]

Fished out east this am. Got some blues to 10# on poppers around sunrise. About a half-hour after the sun came up, Albi's came through and I managed two on small tins after clipping off my leader and direct tying. what I caught was only a small part of the scene.
There were false albacore busting all over. I think it's going to be a great year for them.

[williehookem]

Decided to try East again. Last night found some runts on the rocks .
LOTS of guys out very few striped ones. Where are the fall run fish?

[surfstix1963]

Persistence pays off but every year it is going to be worse the decline in bass is at a devastating level and the only thing you can expect is runts that size class will be the future if any of the bass.Enjoy whatever may be left and pray for some blues to lessen the pain.History has repeated itself.

[nitestrikes]

^^^^I agree. Fished W of mecca this morning. 2 hours pre dawn and 2 after. Two schoolies on the SS and a few blues to 9#.

[williehookem]

Mostly blue fish, but got a few stripers this weekend out East.

[williehookem]

Better fishing out East. Spent the whole day yesterday. Started 3am. Got a mess o bass to 17lbs. Most were between 22-27". Buck and pork. Some monster blues as well. Great white water.

[nitestrikes]

Have been out that way twice in the last week. Things definitely getting better.

[nitestrikes]

Tried a little closer to me on the SS last night. Picked up a handful of shortys, all on bucktail.

[nitestrikes]

Fished closer to home last night, SS beach. Picked up some runts and two that weighed 16 and 14 pounds on the boga. Still swimming. On darters.

[rockhopper]

Nice going! I was out there on the ss as well. Picked up a couple of small stripers, bucktail and pork. It can only get better from here on in

[seamonkey]

Good job!

[Monty]

Fished CSS this morning 2:00 to 9:00.
Around 2:45 a short bass on Coltsniper Jerkbait.
Then had a bunch of hits, solid ones, spaced out on the trip on the same plug, bucktails and Mega darter.
My reflexes were like a rock!!! Frustrating trip.
Nice water, had been doing much better in the area the last month (actually hooking up).

[cowherder]

hey you got to be in it to win it, right?

[7deadlyplugs]

Out on the SS last night. Finally picked up a few runts on a shad. About a half hour after dark I decided to throw a big danny. I wasn't paying much attention and thinking about dinner when I got whacked so hard my pole bent in half. fish on for maybe a minute, few drag screaming runs and then pop she broke my leader. I checked the line and it must have been frayed from when I was dragging the shads across the sand on the bottom. Definitely my PB striper for this year or any other I'll never know how big that fish was.

[7deadlyplugs]

Same place last night, got blanked. It's like feast or famine out there.

[Monty]

Crazy trip. Fished this morning from 12:00-8:00, think I was in the twilight zone.
I have missed a lot of hits the last few trips and started off with missed hits on Plastic Swimmer, then bucktail and then SS Bottle (so normal trip so far).
Then make a cast and bottle goes off into the Atlantic with ~40 yards of line.
Check tip, OK, chalk it up to line compromised.
Few casts and hit on SS Black/Purple darter. I set the hook, rod bends big time and off goes the fish, darter and ~40 yards of line.
Look at all the guides, find one with 1/4 of the ferrule gone, sharp edges.
Break off the rest of it with pliers and ready to go.
Catch a bass on blurple Loki Skinny Minnie around 28 inches.
Few casts later hook into another fish on the Loki, seems bigger, drag pulled and after short fight, its gone.
Couple casts later miss a hit on Loki.
I look at plug and the hook is gone. So lost fish took hook.
Pretty much it, missed a few hits after that (need to sharpen my bucktails, don't seem to be sticking). Place got crowded and I moved to other water just before sun up.
Never lost a fish either of those ways before.
Weird trip, would have liked to have landed those other two fish.

http://i0.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016_1_6_Trouble.jpg

[williehookem]

Whoa! If it wasn't for bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all. sorry to hear that dude. That really sucks

[Monty]

Whoa! If it wasn't for bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all. sorry to hear that dude. That really sucks

Weird trip, a bit frustrating. Still fun. I'm always glad when I beat the skunk and just getting out on the water trying to catch fish is fun.
I am going to sharpen all my hooks, I have missed way to many solid hits the last 3 trips (I'm getting a complex).

[nitestrikes]

Sorry for the delayed report. Had a pretty good night Saturday on the SS. From 12 till 5. Good pick of fishto high teens all night on big wood and SS bottles. The crowds were terrible. Bad behavior all around. one of the reasons why I'm usually not out fishing on the weekends.

[nitestrikes]

Sorry to hear about your experience Monty. I am in the water a lot and my hooks and gear usually gets wet. Sometimes I change my hooks twice a season. Fwiw

[Monty]

Sorry to hear about your experience Monty. I am in the water a lot and my hooks and gear usually gets wet. Sometimes I change my hooks twice a season. Fwiw
Not a big deal, I change them out frequently too, plus rinse after almost each trip, think my bucktails are the ones that really need sharpening.
Fished this morning a new area for me ocean side 1:00-9:30.
Covered a lot of area, at the end of my walk just before sun up I was getting "bumps" and it was bunker.
Sun came up and bunker was out the wazoo, no swirls. One guy was fishing within site and he caught one ~40 inch bass on snag and drop over 2 hours. To much bunker, I had to move was hooking them on everything I threw. Moved out of the bunker and picked up one almost legal bass on a SS popper.
Lots of exercise, great being out on a chilly night.

http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016_11_13_Surf.jpg?w=850

[hookset]

great Sunrise pic thanks for sharing

[williehookem]

Late report, had some of the most fantastic blue fishing action on the NS last week. they were chasing adult bunkers and were in a frenzy. Pencil poppers at the end of the day was a great way, and the visual of these huge fish crushing those poppers will be etched in my mind through the long cold winter. I had blue fish over 15 pounds for 5 days in a row. Possibly it was going on for longer than that, what a fall run big of monsters! Back to the stripers last night. Fished the SS before the rain. Only one runt on a bucktail and pork.

[williehookem]

Also wanted to mention that I went to Montauk this weekend. Nothing but rats left on bucktails.

[Monty]

Fished CSS from 1:30 to 9:30 this morning in challenging conditions.
Missed a few hits throughout the trip, think the cross wind was an issue and I had too much belly in the line.
Lost a nice fish on a black 3 oz bottle darter around 3:00, landed ~26 inch bass on the North Bar Darter, loaded.
Interesting trip, wind was tough, great looking water, maybe back out Tuesday AM.

http://i2.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016_11_20_water2.jpg?w=850

[7deadlyplugs]

wow that is some rough-looking water. good deal on the catch.