Fluke Slow, Bass Fantastic
By Captain Al

Fishing from May 22 to June 5 was been excellent. Some species are tough to come by but others are available in good numbers. Striped bass fishing has been excellent and weakfish have made a showing.

Flounder season closed on May 30 but was very good right until the end.

Fluke fishing has had a slow start. There is a pretty good number of fish in the inlet and back-bay areas but very few keepers. The hottest spot for keepers has been the Coast Guard Station and West Channel. The ocean is holding fish but once again shorts make up most of the action with a couple of keepers in between.

Weakfishing has been slow but in the last week a new bunch of fish must have come in the inlet. The fishing has improved greatly with most of the big keepers being taken in the Ocean Beach area.

Striped bass fishing has been nothing short of fantastic. In the past three weeks my fares have caught over 200 striped bass up to 38 pounds with the smallest fish about 15 pounds. There is plenty of live bait, mostly bunker all over the bay and ocean. When you catch the live bait it is a sure thing that you will score with big striped bass. On one trip we boated 36 large striped bass and I have had most days with over 15 fish. On June 5 I fished with Steven Christiansen and his dad Al with the trip as a present for his dad’s 75th birthday. We caught 20 bass up to 34 pounds. What else can I say, the bass fishing is excellent.

For those that can’t deal with catching and storing live bait, clam chumming and fishing bunker chunks is also working well in all the rips by the inlet and at the Moses Bridge. It’s a bass fiesta going on out there.

Bluefish are all over the bay and inlet areas. Smaller, 2- to 4-pound fish are chasing bait on top and the big slammers are taking live bait and chunks on the bottom. They are solid from the inlet to Ocean Beach. The Lighthouse area is especially loaded with bluefish. Make sure you have a light-spinning outfit ready to throw a metal lure at these fun to catch and hard-fighting fish.

The waters are very clean and there is plenty of bait and fish so get your gear ready and get out there.

Fishing Tip of the Week

When snagging live bunker make sure that you let your weighted treble hook sink to nearly the bottom. Occasionally a bunker will splash on the top but most of the school is deeper in the water column. Cast your treble hook over and past the school. Let it sink and then start your retrieve with long sweeping pulls of the rod as you retrieve. Using Sufix Hi-Vis line will help you keep track of where your line and hook is at all times.

Fishing Facts of the Week

The average price of wild salmon versus farmed salmon is $19 per pound vs. $8.

The percent of “wild” salmon tested in New York shores that were actually farmed: 80%.

Good Luck and Good Fishing!

Captail Al Lorenzetti

Skimmer Fishing Charters

(631) 661-2112

www.skimmeroutdoors.com