Hamptons Fishing Report: Bass Fishing in the Inlet and Ponquogue Bridge Continues To Impress

Opening day for sea bass finally arrived on Monday and will run through October 1. It will reopen again from November 1 through December 31, with a 13-inch minimum size limit and a 10-fish per day bag.

Aboard the Hampton Lady out of Shinnecock, anglers took easy limits of sea bass as well as large porgies that came over the rails. Onboard the Someday Came Charters, Bruce and Sal fished out in Shinnecock with nonstop action on the incoming tide just west of the bridge. The charter boat also had excellent success while drifting the inlet, using live bait to record solid catches. The striped bass bite warmed up this past weekend to produce some very large fish although those longer than 32-inches were all released.

Capt. Scott Jeffrey of in Hampton Bays reported that the bass fishing in the inlet and Ponquogue Bridge continues to impress everyone who attempts to drift these areas in search of keepers. Speaking of keeper-size fish, they have been the norm in both areas, using live chunk and clam baits. Jeffrey said there were plenty of feisty bluefish in the mix, chewing away at the live baits and harassing the bass anglers in their usual manner.

The fluke bite has been strong although there are currently more shorts than keepers in both the bay and the ocean. Those hoping to improve the ratio in their favor have been using large, live killies for bait and finding success. Scott also said there were reports of fluke from Greenlawns, and they were decent last week, with fish to seven-pounds being hooked and of course, the bluefish are just about everywhere in Peconic Bay. Rogers Rock and Robins Island are two of the hot spots.

Jeffrey noted solid bass action at the Ponquogue Bridge as well as the inlet as anglers are using chunk baits, clam and live baits as well as bucktails, especially if you’re working the rips.

“The shad have moved into the bridge on the night tides, so catch some for the live [bait] well, hook them and hold on,” said Jeffrey. “Blues are at the inlet and the canal in the evening and early morning and porgy reports have come from the north end of the canal as well as from the bridge."

His beach report included the mention of smaller bunker schools running down the beaches, with the bass following closely.

A private charter aboard the Black Rock out of Orient Point this past weekend produced plenty of bass and bluefish for young angler Dominic, age 5 and his father Anthony. The duo were quick learners and within 30 minutes, Dominic had his first keeper.

The Rick Vitano group aboard the Capt. Mark out of Montauk had a banner day on Monday as those on board limited out on striped bass in the northern rips. The best catches came over the rails on the flood tide and all rocky spots yielded a good sea bass catch, especially for those who used squid and gulp in combination. That same day, another angler and his daughters, Selena and Shannon hit it big time with striped bass and fluke. Shannon had a 12.5 pound striper and a 7.5 pound fluke, while Selena caught her very first striped bass.

Jigging rubber shad at the elbow is producing striped bass, sea bass and fluke.