June's Fishing Forecast • Don't Forget Dad-Sunday June 16th • Crabbing Has Started • Fun Fish Around Long Island • Wrecks-Reefs And More

Bluefish continue to be the story this past week with good catches of quality size choppers being caught all along the south shore inlets and bays. Whether fishing from shore, off the Local Docks or out in a boat, anglers targeting Bluefish have been successful.
The size of the fish have been on the large size with fish up to 15 lbs. being weighed-in. Fresh or frozen Bunker and Mackerel have been the bait of choice with all the the standards diamond jigs or tins and poppers working for guys casting lures. To save on lost fish and tackle it's advisable to use a wire leader when fishing for these "toothy" fish.

Striped Bass catches have "gotten" progressively better.   Anglers fishing from boats have been scoring using bucktails, swimming plugs and soft plastics like Bass Assassins. There has been some quality fish mixed in with the schoolies. Bait fishermen have been doing well with Bunker, fresh salted Clam or drifting whole Sandworms. 

The bass bite continues to remain steady with places such as moriches and Shinnecock Inlet all producing a good amount of slot sized fish. The locals are  also have had a good pick of bass. Patchogue's Mascot Dock  , bluepoint and West Sayville Dock are all great options.

Fluke fishing this past week saw some good catches being reported from anglers. When fishing Moriches area or Fire island inlet area try using light jigs and a teaser tipped with either spearing and squid or 4 or 5 inch gulp. Keepers in the 4lb plus range are being caught.  A good dirft pattern can produce 2-3 quality fish. The trick is to stay with it and be ready when the fish are in the mood to bite.

Porgy fishing has stayed hot in the Peconic Bays and along the islands north shore.  The south shore is also showing signs of some fine "scup" at the inlets and local reefs.  with most anglers culling out the smaller keepers and still being able to get there bag limit by the end of a trip. Sandworms and clam have been the “go-to” baits with tubes of clam chum helping to hold the fish close to the boat.

Porgy fishing is a great way to introduce kids to fishing. Porgy fishing (also know as Scup) offers lots of action to keep them interested while learning basic angling skills.

Weakfishing reports have been coming in from the Peconics and Great South Bay.  Anglers fishing for porgies are getting an occasional tide-runner too.   We have also heard of anglers fishing the Smith Point County Park  and Ocean Beach area landing some quality fish. Try drifting a whole sandworm or pink rubber shad tipped with a squid strip or try using a basic double hook rig.  with either Sandworms or Squid Strip as another productive method. 

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Surf Report
This week again saw consistent surf fish on both bass and bluefish. Once again the general pattern stayed true. Blues by day and bass by night.  Bluefish action can be found almost anywhere. Along the open beach, in the inlets, deep in the bay and even the local docks are seeing some fish.
If you are looking to throw bait then try some fresh bunker or even some frozen Mackerel along the bottom. When casting lures it would be wise to carry an array of tins as well as top water poppers. Ive seen some great action take place with tins when topwater seemed useless. The average size fish is coming in at about 8 lbs but many are mixed in that are over 10.

When targeting bass you can try the day time but I would strongly suggest using bait like clams or even fresh bunker along the beach. Circle hooks are required) Hooks.  Try topwater lures for bass at dawn and dusk but for the most part the bass are becoming more active after dark. A good mix of fish can be found. Schoolies are common but fish into the teens can be picked as well. Not much as far as anything over 20lbs this week but they are around.

Recipe of the week:

STUFFED BAKED FLUKE FILLET- Cut each Fluke Fillet in half, so you will have 4 Fillets for your dish. To make the stuffing saute some chopped garlic in olive oil adding in a bag of fresh chopped spinach. After the spinach and Garlic  has cooled put in a bowl and mix in a cup and a half of Feta Cheese for the Stuffing. Roll the Fillets with the Stuffing and hold them together with tooth picks. Put a light layer of Olive Oil on the fillets and put them in a glass baking pan. Sprinkle some Red Paprika and Parsley and Bake in the oven at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Serve with Wild Rice and fresh Asparagus.

Crabbing- has starting.  It should only improve over the next couple of weeks.  Traps and nets are both producing but traps and doing a little better during the day and netting these critters is better at night.  Bunker is a great bait and so is mackerel.

Freshwater
The lakes have been consistently producing an array of fishing opportunities.  Perch, bluegills, pickerel, and trout ('2024 NYS and Suffolk County Freshwater Regulation -PDF) make up a mixed bag. Over at West Lake dunking live nightcrawlers would give you the best shot at catching trout along with panfish. Give Great Patchogue Lake a go with some live shiners for pickerel. The weeds are starting to develop so working the "weedlines" (The weedline, as the name suggests, is the outer edge of a weedbed.) is the best shot at finding them.

Joe from J&J fishing Lake Ronkonkoma

This weeks lake of the week is Artist Lake in middle island. Artist lake provides excellent largemouth bass fishing with bass being caught up to 5 lbs. this lake also features great fishing for fish like cat fish, perch and sun fish. The best way to fish this lake would be lures like senko worms and top water poppers. Bait such as live shiners and night crawlers are also great because both baits will catch almost all species in this lake.

Don't underestimate the tenacity and taste of Sea Robbins. <Fillet A Sea Robbin Video> These scrappy critters are plentiful and tasty too.

Attached is a list of some "Fun Fish Facts Around Long Island." Most are edible and plentiful too. So enjoy the summer and tight lines. (PDF)

Attached is an additional list of more "Fun Fish Facts-2 Around Long Island." Most are edible and plentiful too. So enjoy the summer and tight lines. (PDF) Updated