Fishing on FI Couldn’t Be Better
Volume 49, Issue 4
By Captain Al

Fishing for the period of June 20 to 27 has been spectacular. The fluke bite finally took off and big striped bass are jumping on live baits.

The big news of the week is the much-improved fluke fishing both inside the inlet and offshore. There was a hot bite in West Channel on Wednesday. The Jib VI out of Captree had 85 keeper fluke on one four-hour trip. Lots of private boats also loaded up on good size fluke fishing from the Coast Guard station east to Ocean Beach and north up in West Channel. Boats fishing in the ocean also had improved catches with some fish to 10 pounds being taken in 40 to 70 foot depths. Hopefully this body of fish will be around for a while.

The striped bass fishing is just amazing. On charters this past week I had over 60 large bass on live bait. Twenty of those fish were over 30 pounds with five fish between 35 and 40 pounds. On Monday fishing with Joe Tropia and Joe Russo, we totaled 20 fish up to 40 pounds. On Tuesday I fished with Anthony and Steve and we had eight bass up to 30 pounds. On Thursday fishing with Jim Fischer and his buddies Rich and Bill, we had about 10 fish up to 38 pounds with six fish over 30 pounds.

Clam chumming is also catching lots of bass but not nearly as many large fish as the live bait.

Flounder season will be over when you read this but it was a good season. It may be the last for a while because the DEC is considering putting a moratorium on fishing for flounder. It may be a closed fishery next fall and again all of next year. Stocks are supposedly at an all time low.

Bottom fishing is improving with porgies available as of July 1 and the first showing of kingfish. Triggerfish and seabass are also beginning to show. It should be real good in another week or two.

Bluefish are all over the inlet and bay. They are being caught as a by-catch with just about any other type of fishing that is going on. They are schooled up on bait in the early morning and evening. The inlet and Snake Hill Channel are solid with small blues just about every morning.

Weakfish are scarce. The only weakfish caught are being taken by accident while fishing for fluke or other species. A land-based fisherman caught a twelve-pound weak in the surf at Democrat.

Offshore bluewater fishing has heated up. The shark bite is pretty good with an ample supply of blue sharks, a few threshers and a couple of makos. This should be getting better for the next couple of weeks. Break out the shark gear and head offshore for some fun with big fish. Some school size bluefin tuna have also been taken on the troll this past week. The limit on Bluefin tuna is one fish per boat at 27 to 73 inches. You must also have a National Marine Fisheries permit to land any tunas or sharks.

My new DVD, “Fishing for Trophy Striped Bass” is now available and selling well. You may order a copy directly from my Web site, www.skimmeroutdoors.com. They are also available at the Seaview Market and Ocean Beach Trader.

FISHING TIP OF THE WEEK

When fishing for fluke in the bay it is best to work along the edges of the channels and sandbars. Fluke like to hand on the edges where they can ambush passing bait schools coming over the shallows and flats. Concentrate your efforts in depths of between five and 15 feet along the edges of all the channels in the bay and inlet. You will catch more fish.

FISHING FACTS OF THE WEEK

Estimated annual number of shark attacks worldwide = 70 to 100.

Average annual number of fatal attacks = five to 15.

Good Luck and Good Fishing!

Captain Al Lorenzetti

Skimmer Fishing Charters

(631) 661-2112

www.skimmeroutdoors.com