Sea Bass take center stage....Striper Action gets even better....Take a cruise and load up on Porgies!
Yet another FOGGY morning means many of you will be sitting home waiting for the sun to open up the sky. Hopefully that means I am not too late with this post. The short week after Memorial Day caught me of guard. I talked to many anglers following the Holiday weekend and all reports seem to be the same. A little of this and a little of that.
Striper action remains consistent in both the CT River and the Race. Most are schoolies and the action is very good. I did see a couple posts of some nice fish. Several better fish were caught in the western sound using Mojo rigs. Those fish are moving east from the Hudson and will be on the local reefs soon.
Sea Bass took center stage last weekend with numerous nice fish being taken from the deep humps off Clinton. Many anglers were using a standard bait rig, but more and more are learning to jig for Sea Bass. Jigging is more fun and can target the bigger “hump heads” more than the traditional bait rigs.
If you want to take the family for a nice cruise or if you want to load up on some Porgies, Peconic bay is the place to be. Cruise around the North Fork of Long Island, see Green Port and Shelter Island as you access Peconic Bay. You won’t miss the Party Boats getting in on the Porgy action.
Scup/Porgies are excellent eating. I like to pan fry them with lemon butter and a side of seasonal risotto. Fry them for fish sticks or fish tacos. They are mild and similar to Sea Bass with just a little more flavor.
The elusive Fluke have kept up their act. The best action has been off Fishers, but Montauk finally started to get better action at the end of the week. Plenty of squid remain on the RI beaches, so once the Fluke find them it should produce some bigger fish.
I thought I would be writing a lot more about the Offshore scene but with the closing of the Trophy Bluefin category and poor weather fewer boats made the ride to prospect. Reports of birds and the potential for Bluefin remains from Montauk to the New York bite anywhere from 10-20 miles off the beach. Let see what the next couple of day report. Light wind should push some anglers to look around.
As always for up to the date reports, advice and tackle give the store a call 860-739-7419.
#1 Tackle and Gear Series
Purchasing Tackle and Gear the right way…… Presentation, Presentation, Presentation!
As a Tackle Shop owner our “best” customers are those that want to grow and learn in the sport of fishing. We own a Tackle Shop because we are passionate about fishing and want to share that passion and knowledge with others. When a new customer walks through our doors we talk to them asking questions that may seem irrelevant but we are trying to get a feel for their ability and desire to grow as a fisherman. We can sell to the novice, the onetime vacationer, the expert or anywhere in between. How we sell and what we sell is determined by the path you are on.
Now let’s take a step back and understand why there are different types of lures and gear. It all comes back to one not so simple word, “Presentation”. What is presentation? Simply put presentation is the ability to make your lure look as appealing as possible to your target species. I purposely left out words like natural or match the hatch. Many times matching a bait fish or making your lure look natural are important to presentation, but just as many times the lure it’s self does not need to look or act “natural”.
If you placed Presentation at the top of a flow chart, it would immediately split into two segments. Environmental influencers and Human Influencers. Environmental influencers would be effects from Wind, Tides, Sea Conditions, Sea Temperature, Currents, Weather, and time of day. Environmental influencers are often unknown or forgotten by novice anglers. Just like in golf people believe they are going to be able to purchase a better club or a gimmick that will improve their swing. You can purchase a club that will fit your body or swing type and that will improve your game. The same can be applied to fishing. You can purchase items (rods, reels, line and lures) that will improve your ability but you must first understand the environmental influencers. Check out some of my most useful fishing tools relating to environmental influencers; the Eldridge Tide Book, Navionics Marine App, a weather app or service, Bouyweather, and a Sea Surface temperature service. I have most recently been drawn to RipCharts and ROFFS services temp services. Until next time calm seas and tight lines!