It’s 7:00 in the morning and already you’ve put a striper in the cooler and released a couple of chopper blues that topped out at eight pounds. You haul anchor, make a five-minute run closer to the beach and break out the flatfish gear. By 10:00 a.m.
you’ve scored a pair of keeper fluke and added a chunky black sea bass to the day’s catch. You could head back home right now with enough fillets to last a month but you’re on a roll and, besides, it’s still early. The yard work can wait another hour or two.
A half-mile run down the beach puts you over a small hump that is topped off by a mussel bed. To the bottom go some clam baits and porgies start coming over the transom. The scup are aggressive on this cloudy morning and you’ve already caught enough for dinner when a chopper slices your line. You pull up the anchor and head for the dock before noon.
THE PERFECT DAY
Sounds a bit too perfect, doesn’t it? Fish of every type, short comfortable rides, fast action; Does such a place really exist? Indeed, it does, and it’s probably a lot closer to home than most Long Island fishing fanatics think. The setting is Port Jefferson, and the scenario described above is entirely possible on any given day in early July. All you have to do is head out prepared to tackle a variety of options and you could find yourself having a banner trip. A teen-sized striper, a few chopper blues, a haul of keeper fluke, a limit of plate-sized porgies and, perhaps, a sea bass or two, is a realistic catch for anglers who know these waters well.
FLUKE THE SUMMER MAINSTAY
Fluke fishing is, of course, one the mainstays of the summer game in this area. Considering the number of boats working these waters the action generally runs fair to good. During July, most of the better scores are made out in front of Port Jeff Harbor or a bit to the east from Mt. Misery Point over to Miller Place Beach and Wading River. But don’t discount the waters around Old Field Point as they can give up some mighty big fish if you probe between the rocks. Look for solid action in 15- to 30-foot depths but expect to cull through a load of shorts for each keeper you put on ice.
Fluke fishing in the Port Jeff area is pretty straightforward and ideal for beginning anglers or youngsters. Set up with a conventional outfit that can handle three- to five-ounce sinkers, bait up with a strip of squid, tip the hook with a spearing or sand eel, and you’re set to go. If you want to work bucktails, it’s very possible on the lighter stages of the tide. Rig up with a one-half to one-ounce white or chartreuse Spro or similar lightweight jig and add a small white, pink or chartreuse teaser or soft plastic grub about 12 inches above.
As for where to try, there are usually plenty of fluke between buoys nine and 11, and down toward Mt. Sinai Harbor as well. Get yourself a chart and mark the shoals, then work them. The shoals hold tons of fish. Move around a lot and sample rocky bottom – not just sand. The rocks at Cranes Neck and Oldfield Point give up some real quality fish. Fluke tend to lie in patches so you need to pick a couple from one patch, then move on to the next. While the early July action is often best out in the open Long Island Sound, be aware that bigger fish sometimes move right into Port Jeff Harbor toward the start of August.
PORGIES APLENTY
While there can be no denying that fluke are a major draw to the Port Jeff area, porgies have a dedicated following, too. In recent years, especially, the scup have run large around here with an honest 2-pound jumbo not an unusual occurrence and solid keepers the norm more than the exception.
The key to finding Port Jeff scup is to search for small humps or rock piles. These fish are structure lovers, just like blackfish. You’ll find them on the same kind of bottom. The best areas seem to be where rocks are scattered over sandy bottom, or an isolated boulder or mussel bed set off just a bit from a generally rocky bottom area. You’ll find the fish anywhere from 12 to 60 feet deep but the best of the action on most trips generally comes from 12 to 30 feet of water.
Standard porgy gear will do here. That equates to a 10- to 20-pound class conventional setup for private boaters, 15- to 30-pound test lines if you take the party boat route. In either case, rig up with a fish-finder rig or a standard high-low rig sporting size two or four beak style porgy hooks. Mono lines will work just fine, although there is a sensitivity edge to braids.
Because you’ll generally work over rocky bottom or alongside some sort of heav structure when targeting the porgies, chum is something you might not want to consider here. Too often, I’ve found, it simply draws in bergalls and sea robins. It also seems to turn on small porgies when the bigger ones are present or causes skitterish schools to hang back further behind the boat than you can comfortably place a bait I’ll work my way up to chumming sometimes, but I would rather start without i when possible. If you really want to hammer the porgies, double anchor so the boa stays put.
STRIPERS AND BLUES ADD TO THE FUN
Fluke and porgies can be a lot of fun, but for some anglers nothing beats th adrenalin rush of a striper or slammer bluefish at the end of the line. If it’s bas and blues you want, Port Jeff can keep you smiling. I’ve had a lot of luck over th years tossing four-inch swimming shads, plugs and poppers tight to shore off Whit Beach, Oldfield Beach and inside the harbor off of Belle Terre. Ease up carefully to rocky areas and hit these spots under cloudy skies.
While I do a lot of shallow casting, most local striper and bluefish fans partake o chunking or diamond jigging. This is usually done in 30 to 60 feet of water over ridge, boulder, mussel bed or some similar type of broken bottom. The best approach is to arrive quietly and mark fish on your recorder, then set up and chunk back o drift over the fish with the jigs. Look for high profile mussel beds that jut out into sandy bottom or small ledges to be especially productive. Many times you’ll find the bass and blues setting up on traditional porgy hot spots, frequently off of Oldfield. Thus, you can set up for porgies and chunk for bigger game at the same time. If the bass or choppers show up, put away the porgy gear and concentrate on bigger game.