Even better, beach fisherman have enjoyed consistent action. Generally, the best way to target Bonito is from the beach on the inside of Great Point – we call this area the “Galls.” The point has closed again, north of the Galls, but this section is very accessible. Target these fish with a metal, point your rod at the water and reel pretty quickly. Make sure you have fresh line and sharp hooks and hold on! It’s a thrill to catch these guys from the beach.
The Bonito Bar on the west end of the island has seen a plethora of traffic and while it continues to produce fish, it is not the best to fish with that number of boats. I would suggest that anglers branch out and find some other water on the west end. Rips to the south of Tuckernuck and Muskeget are holding fish and part of fishing is exploring and finding new water.
Our Bass fishing continues to be plentiful, especially for August. From the beach, fish continue to be caught consistently on the south shore and are generally right in the break. It’s best to target them in low light situations and your best bet will be in the evening. Use smaller swimming baits as the bait in the water is now much smaller. There are still some big fish in the mix, but they will almost always be deeper into the night. From the boat, the eastern rips are still producing but not at the rate they were a few weeks ago. Generally, you are picking at them unless you find a pile of birds. We are also continuing to get a good array of smaller Stripers on the west side of the island.
Bottom fishing is also fantastic right now. In fact, if I had a little more free time, it’s exactly what I would focus on. There are plenty of Black Sea Bass around, in fact local fisherman, Kyle Snell caught a 5.5 lb. fish this week. With these fish being so abundant, I am more than comfortable making this catch my dinner – they are absolutely delicious. We also still have a lot of Fluke. Most people target the bottom fish on the eastern side of the island in roughly 25 ft. of water. Use squid or a bluefish belly as bait, and the appropriate weight, and you’ll have dinner for the week.
Lastly, we love seeing some good Bluefish action. Anglers are regularly catching blues from the south shore and Great Point. Most of the success has been on heavier metals, such as Hopkins. These are great because their weight allows you to cover more water and they attract more attention in the water.
Go enjoy our constantly changing fishery and try something new this week on the water!