Fishing for the period from June seven to 19 has once again been excellent. Striped bass fishing is red hot and most other species are in good supply.
The striper fishing has been exceptional. There are a lot of baitfish in the ocean with schools of bass and bluefish chasing them all around. Lots of big bass have been caught both in the ocean and in the inlet area. On June 10, I fished with Gary Arnold and his buddies Bill and Jerry. We had about eight bass up to 38 pounds. On June 19, I fished with Ken Ross and his son Clint. We had a bunch of bass up to about 30 pounds and also some “gorilla” bluefish.
People that are fishing clams and chumming in the inlet area are also catching a lot of fish but not too many large ones.
Big Gibbs “Danny” plugs are still accounting for big bass along the edges of all the sand bars in the inlet area.
Flounder fishing has been the best in years in the Sore Thumb pocket. I have heard of catches of up to 80 fish on a tide. It is a must to fish incoming water and chum heavily and fish fresh sand or bloodworms. The season ends on June 30, so by the time you read this you should have at least another week to get in on this hot fishing.
Fluke fishing is just OK. There are some big fish offshore but they are far and few between. In the Duke of Fluke contest, an 11-pound fish was the winner and a 10.5 pound fish was second place. Both fish were caught south of Fire Island Inlet. The inlet and bay are loaded with small fluke. The keeper ratio is about one in 50. I would stick it out in the ocean and wait for the big doormat to find my bait. There is also a good by-catch of bluefish and striped bass while fluke fishing in the ocean.
Weakfish are scarce. A few have been caught on the bayside of some of the Fire Island communities. Evening and nighttime seem the most productive especially where there are some bright lights to attract the bait.
Bluefish are in their summer mode. Lots of schools of two to five pound blues are showing on bait in the early morning and evening. There are also some huge bluefish chopping up big live baits meant for striped bass. Blues up to 16 pounds are common.
The first sharks have been taken offshore but it is still spotty. Some porgies are in the bay and bottom fishing is picking up. It should be good in a week or two.

FISHING TIP OF THE WEEK

When fishing live bait for striped bass, big bluefish often attack the bait and chop off the tail. When this happens I tail hook my bait with another hook on a short piece of wire leader. I purchase pre-rigged bluefish hooks on six-inch wire leaders. I attach it to my rig and run the hook through the skin near the tail of the bait. A bass will still hit the rig but if a bluefish tries to chop off the tail he will usually get hooked and you can have a great time fighting a monster bluefish instead of just losing your bait.

FISHING FACTS
OF THE WEEK

Number of new fish species discovered in 2004 = 178
Average length of shark bottom longline in Southeast U.S. = 10 miles (600 hooks)

Good Luck and Good Fishing!
Captain Al Lorenzetti
Skimmer Fishing Charters
631-661-2112
www.skimmeroutdoors.com