Archive for Long Island Fishing Reports
Late Season Striped Bass Fishing in Fire Island Inlet
Posted by: | CommentsI had Dennis, John and Matt aboard for a day of late season striped bass fishing. Plan A involved running outside the inlet in search bait schools with fish on them which would be susceptible to diamond jigging. Plan B was a live-well full of spot and eels. We were ready.
We broke Fire Island Inlet approximately 9am Saturday morning and were immediately greeted with BIG East winds of 20kts and fairly large 3-4 swell. Add the windchop to the mix and it was not very much fun to run into in 39 degree temperatures!! 
Despite the conditions we ran several miles down the beach without finding any signs of life on the recorder. The sea birds were all flying around wondering where the fish were as well. We bagged Plan A and fell back to Plan B.
John's keeper striper
We got back inside the inlet for the last half of the flood current. We dropped down the live baits and Dennis and John picked two smaller fish of 28 and 31 inches respectively. Dennis’ was released, John’s came home for the table.
As the current was slacking we made a move away from the inlet and into the back bay areas. Working several pieces over back there we found 3 more fish from 30-31 inches. I released mine a boatside, Dennis had dinner invitations for his.
Dennis with the evening's dinner menu
We kept making some “last drifts” trying to find Matt a fish but unfortunately it was not to be today. A tale of two days today with the BIG cold wind of the morning giving way to dead still conditions after lunchtime. We knocked off at sundown and ran back across a flat calm Great South Bay. Fun day on the water today
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Fire Island Fishing After Hurricane Sandy
Posted by: | CommentsIn the wake of Hurricane Sandy hitting Long Island fishing has been put aside as area residents try to get their lives back to something near normal. To be sure this is going to take quite some effort and time as the damage to Long Island was something for the record books. For me personally, I feel EXTREMELY lucky in the fact that my family came through the ordeal healthy, we did not face any of the major damage that so many others have. Yes sir, we were VERY fortunate.
I have been able to actually get out on the water a few times since the storm. One trip was just a run around the bay taking in the enormous damage inflicted upon the waterfront communities and marinas. This was by FAR the saddest day I have ever spent on the Great South Bay bar none!!!
On two other trips since the storm I actually had the chance to fish. Just the simple act of wetting a line provided temporary relief from the disaster scene that is Long Island post-Sandy.
On Election Day, a day that until this year was always host to the Riverview Striped Bass contest, (cancelled this year due to the restaraunt being ruined by the flooding Great South Bay) I managed to sneak in a trip on what turned out to be an amazing day weather-wise. Sunny skies and calm winds belied the damage I left behind on the mainland. On arrival to the inlet baitfish in the form of hickory shad were evident across the entire inlet. Did not take long before I had my first bass of the day. The fish were thick on this day as several locations each held good numbers of very decent sized striped bass. I ended the day with 10 fish into the high 20′s on the live bait and saw several larger caught on the other three boats fishing the area.
Fire Island Election Day Striped Bass
This past Saturday, following another BIG storm mid-week, I was a guest aboard my fishing buddy Dennis’ boat. We worked the inlet area trying to round up some live bait but they were not to be found. The cold of the recent noreaster seemed to have shut them down.
With no live bait we ran outside the inlet and were greeted by flocks of gannets diving on bait being driven to the surface by gamefish. While it was no blitz we worked area to area and managed to pick 9 stripers to 18lbs on diamond jigs before heading back inside.
Fire Island Striped Bass
We worked over the inlet with soft plastic lures and Dennis grabbed another striper making it 10 for the day. Another wonderful day with beautiful weather and some fish to round it out.
A word of caution for those who do get a chance to fish. Be extremely careful watching out for floating debris. We saw large timbers floating on each of the trips I’ve made since the storm. Any of these were large enough to cause some serious trouble if struck while underway.
As I am writing this there is still some nice action with the stripers in the Fire Island area and it should hold right through the end of the season barring anymore wild weather patterns. So, be VERY careful out there and good luck
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Surf Casting for Striped Bass and Bluefish During Local Surf Fishing Contest
Posted by: | CommentsThis weekend I tried something a little different. Taking a break from the boat I instead opted to fish a local surf fishing contest, the South Shore Classic. The contest runs the entire weekend but I only got to fish the first day as the beach I fish was shut down on the rest of the weekend due to a tragic plane crash in the Moriches Inlet on Saturday. Terrible tragedy where two men were killed when the plane crashed and sank near the west jetty of the inlet.
Friday of the contest had winds blowing southeast around 20kts kicking up a beautiful surf. Excellent conditions for striped bass fishing from the beach by all accounts. Sorry to say it did not end up that way as the fishing was slow the entire day with only a handful of fish taken among the group I was fishing with. I fished chunks of fresh bunker and managed two bluefish under 10lbs and a single striped bass that was only 26inches. None of the blues were going to be big enough to do anything on the leader board so they were safely release.
Had a good time fishing with some old buddies and had a great time despite the slow fishing action.
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As for the boat action in the Fire Island Inlet. With the beach closed down I took a quick ride on the boat and found some live baits to drift around some different places way in the back bay area. There was nothing doing for the three hours I had to fish. The night time action has started to pickup in the Fire Island Inlet area and with a few trips planned for this week I’m hoping to have some better news on the Fire Island striper fishing scene.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Long Island Fishing Report- Windy Day Weakfish on the Great South Bay
Posted by: | CommentsI had Joe K and his co-workers Stan, Darrin and Lawrence aboard the boat this morning for a half day trip on the Great South Bay. Lawrence was visiting Long Island from Tennessee so we wanted to get him on some Long Island saltwater fish.
The weather report was ominous for later in the day but they did give us a small window in the morning according to the forecast so we decided to go for it. Arriving at the marina with the wind HOWLING from the South at 20kts had me thinking about calling it off as there was concern about our southern visitor on the rough bay. With the green light given, we were off across a chopped up Great South Bay.
While waiting for the current to get moving in the back bay my first efforts focused on the Fire Island Inlet area for the start of the incoming current. We were exposed to the wind here and drifting properly was tough. The fishing suffered as we picked up a few short fluke and mix of sea-robins and small sea bass. As the wind continued to build I worked the boat back into the bay following the flood current.
Darrin on a GOOD Weakie
We worked a few stretches along the way with continued sea bass pecking away at our baits before ultimately ending up way back in the bay and the lee provided by the Fire Island communities. The move paid off well as we were into a nice weakfish bite. The guys ended up with a Baker’s Dozen to 5lbs, keeping their limit of one per angler and releasing the rest.
The Crew with some dinner
The guys were real troopers putting up with the rain and wind while piling up a nice tally in some tough conditions. Thanks guys, great having you aboard.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Labor Day Fishing on the Great South Bay
Posted by: | CommentsI had the chance to do an early morning trip for a few hours on Labor Day and headed off to the boat with weakfish on my mind. The action for these beautiful fish has been holding up very well this summer considering their relative absence in recent years. 2012 has seen a solid run of these gamesters and anglers can actually plan fishing trips specifically targeting them.
Slid out of the marina at 4am and went searching for the live baits I planned to use. Took a little hunting before finally coming across a mess of them. With a single flip of the castnet the live-well was filled and it was off to the grounds.
Fished around some spots way in the back bay and found the bluefish were loving the peanut bunker baits. They cut the baits off on each of the first few spots I hit. A small move into deeper water was the ticket as my first offering here was taken by a small weakfish of about 12inches. Working this area over produced a few more fish up to 21 inches, one of which I put in the box for dinner. They ARE delicious!!
Great South Bay Weakfish
With the east wind seeming to build as the morning went on I ducked into some lee behind and island and managed to pick off a few more nice weakies before calling it a day at 9:30.
September is here and with it comes the heightened awareness of Long Island striper fishermen that our line-sided friends will be making their annual Fall return very soon. I have still have some excellent dates available for stripers if anyone is interested in giving them a shot.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Fire Island Fishing Report – Great South Bay Fluke Fishing
Posted by: | CommentsI had Joe L and his sons Steve, Franz and Magnus aboard for a half day fluke fishing trip in the Great South Bay. We met at the Seaview Marina on Fire Island and were on our way by 9am. We fished live baits on several locations in the back bay during the last of the incoming current hoping to find a few weakfish.
We did not find the weaks but did manage to find a decent keeper sized fluke and bluefish mixing in with some small seabass and short fluke. Overall the fishing today was left a LOT to be desired but the boys kept at it through the slow spots and managed to get some fish in the boat despite some tough wind conditions.
Steve and Magnus with a few fish for the table
It was a great day on the water with wonderful company.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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