Fishing Report June 20 - Western Long Island Sound

Manhasset Bay Fishing Report June 20
Tides and sunrise/set for
Friday High 6:49 PM – Sunset 8:30 PM

Saturday High 7:23 AM and 7:54 PM
Sunrise 5:23 AM, Sunset 8:30 PM
Sunday High 8:27 AM and 8:52 PM
Sunrise 5:24 AM, Sunset 8:30 PM
Water Surface Temp. at Execution Rock: 68 (deg. F)

General report – Not a bad week.  Good weather and lots of bunker have made for some good fishing opportunities.  Watch out for the Coast Guard, they are checking boats for proper safety equipment and for licenses if you are fishing.  If you need your free marine registration come by the shop, it only takes a few minutes.  Make sure to bring a driver license or other form of ID for proof of residence. 

Fly fishing – The water has cleaned up and is its normal shade of green.  Bright colored flies around the rocks have been catching a few bass.  Night time has been the better time with dark patters with black over purple being the best choice.  Fish to the East are filling up on sand eels.  Watch for cinder worms starting to appear.  Next full moon should bring on a hatch.  Make sure to keep a couple of worm patterns in your box.

Fluke – Fluke bite is still going strong.  Again usual complaint; “limit is 18”, I am catching 17” fish!”  Keep with it, try fishing a little deeper.  Once again, Gulp! on a bucktail has been the ticket.

Stripers – Fishing has been hot and cold all week.  Large fish are being caught around Hempstead harbor.  Large schools of bunker are all over.  If there are blues working the school try dropping a chunk down underneath or to the side of the school for a good shot at some big fish.  The night bite has been good all around.  Yesterday Captain Brian Moran had some good fish using plugs late in the afternoon.  He also reported that Gulp shrimp were working very well.  In my past report I mentioned stripers eating a lot of shrimp this spring….

Bluefish – Snapperblue/ cocktail blues are in the Bay.  Big blues are working pods of bunker out in the Sound and occasionally in the entrance to the Bay.  Deadly Dicks and Kastmasters have been the ticket for the smaller blues off of Town Dock and beaches in the Bay.

Porgy fishing – To the East is still the word for big porgies.  Good numbers and size fish are being caught North of Execution Light.  Make sure to use some clam chum to get the best results and use a little patience.

Clamming – Clam grounds are open at the mouth of Hempstead Harbor.  The clamming grounds run from Prospect Point to the Falaise Mansion in Sands Point Preserve and across the mouth of Hempstead Harbor to the breakwater at the mouth of Hempstead Harbor and out to Matinecock Point.  So if you want to clam on the beach in Port Washington you can go to Sands Point Preserve and clam in the water off the beach.

Fisherman’s tip:  When fishing over a rock or bottom feature, tie your chum bag off the bow of the boat so the slick runs under the boat to where you are fishing.  If you tie it off the stern you just feed the fish behind the boat, not under the boat where your lines are.  Chum does not drop straight down quickly, it drifts to the bottom being pushed along by the currents.  Chumming off the stern is fine if you aren’t fishing with weight, trying to give your bait natural drift.  Use this technique when anchored in front of a rock or structure to allow your bait to float into the target area.

For live reports, tips, etc. call Atlantic Outfitters at 516-767-2215 or check the website www.atlanticoutfitters.us.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search for Atlantic Outfitters.
Tight lines,
John