Hello Fishermen and Friends!
We have finally hit a little bit of a rhythm in our fishery. It continues to be diverse, productive and a ton of fun.
Our Bonito fishing has been extremely good over the last week. Anglers from Muskeget to Great Point are catching these speedsters and having fun. My first memory of catching a Bonito, was when I was twelve years old. I was on the pulpit of the Just Do It Too, with Captain Marc and were sitting between the Jetties. I was watching these speedsters porpoise out of the water and I placed a perfect cast in front of one. I watched it take the small metal on the surface. This fish brought me around the boat three times before I was able to land it. Man, was that awesome.
I bring that story up, because we have not seen Bonito in the Harbor in years. Well, if you spend time on the Jetties at first light, you’ll see these fish chasing bait. It’s fun! From the beach, we hear a handful of Bonito being caught every day. Most anglers are using metals and retrieving them pretty quickly. Focus on the Galls, on the inside and outside. From the boat, Great Point is also producing Bonito between Bluefish. If you work for an entire tide, you will have a good shot of seeing them. By far, the most productive area of the Island is at the west end on the famed Bonito Bar. We’ve had tides where we catch twenty fish and tides where we catch two fish. So, it can be hit or miss. Often, on the west end though, we do have a good variety of fish and it’s not uncommon to catch a Bass, a Bluefish and a Bonito on a tide.
With respect to variety and in thinking back to last weeks’ crazy week, we had a cool story on the Bonito Bar last week. My brother Ken, who is an avid angler, was fishing the bar with his son and landed a couple of Bonito, before he felt a tug on his line and watched a fish come clear out of the water. No it was not a tarpon, but a small Mahi Mahi. He landed this peanut of a fish, which was bright yellow and green and had a heck of a story to tell. His inshore slam of the day was a Bonito, a Bass, a Blue and Mahi. Now that is cool!
If you are fishing the bar, first be very careful getting there. It is not an easy spot to get to and if you have not done it before. We recommend taking someone with you who knows the lay of the land. Also, watch how other boats are fishing and mimck their style. If everyone is drifting through, don’t be the guy that anchors up. This goes for anywhere and should be common sense. If the charter boats are trolling at Great Point, troll along with them or give them their space. If you establish your own part of the edge, they will respect your space.
Blue fishing continues with mixed reviews. It’s better than July but not as good as it should be. The South Shore is hit or miss, while the east end of the Island continues to be more consistent. We still lack the acres of Blues, but there are definitely fish to be caught. Sometimes, you have to go under the surface to catch them as they are not always on top. The best fishing though, continues to be on the small fish that sit off Smith’s Point and over in Dionis. Those fish are on the surface and very active. It’s a blast for all ages.
We have seen some decent Bass fishing from the beach in the last week, with several keepers being reported. Focus on fishing at night from Cisco, Madaket or Madequecham. Fish a swimming plug as slow as you can go. If you are on a boat, the western rips still have some smaller fish and some keepers mixed in. If you target them in a tide, you’ll catch 6-10 fish pretty comfortably. Out east, we are still seeing some big fish and good numbers, but it can be hit or miss. We’ve had a few tides that produced nothing after we had great fishing for two days, but that is fishing and you never know.
Tight Lines!