BY TOMMY KAMPA
The Western Long Island Sound is starting to warm up nicely; the Ospreys have been here since early April, catching Bunker, and building their nests. Striped Bass are in Little Neck Bay, Manhasset Bay, Eastchester Bay and Hempstead Harbor also feeding on Bunker. Fluke will start showing up near Prospect Point, Sands Point and off of Hart Island. Porgies should start being caught on the Centre Island Reef; and near the end of the month we should start seeing Bluefish.
In the beginning of the month, those looking to catch Striped Bass should look for warmer water inside the bays for places to anchor up. Chunking with fresh Bunker is a great way to get that first Striper of the season.
It’s very important to get the freshest bait possible, it will greatly increase your chances; your local bait & tackle shops will all be stocking Bunker and should be able to give you some good information on where they’re biting! Start a relationship with your local tackle shop, support them and the rewards of their knowledge will benefit your catches.
I like using a seven foot medium heavy, fast action conventional setup, spooled with thirty pound test monofilament line. The monofilament line is much more forgiving than braid especially when fishing rocky structures; one nick from a rock with braid and the game is over! I use a four foot length of fifty pound fluorocarbon leader attached to a barrel swivel to my main line. This early in the season will snell a 7/0 J hook (I love the feel of setting the hook) to the leader and bait it with a Bunker chunk. The first chunk behind the head is the best; make sure you use the guts, feel for the heart and make sure you put your hook through it. This will help keep the Bunker guts on your hook which will also give the Stripers something to smell. If there is not much current, you will not need any weight; attach a fish finder rig above your swivel with a sinker if you think your baits not staying on the bottom. Toss your baited hook away from the boat, and wait for the Striper to find it; you don’t have to let these fish run more than a few feet before trying to hook them. Any longer and you will risk gut hooking the fish and if released the fish’s chances for survival are not great. Many feel that Fluorocarbon leaders are not necessary due to our water visibility, but I like to use them. Bunker heads also are great chunking baits and will produce some big fish; make sure you give the Stripers a few more feet to run before setting the hook.
If you can get them, live bunker will also produce big Striped Bass. You will need a live well to make sure the Bunker are lively; the more active your Bunker the more attractive it will be to the Striper. I will use a longer leader when live lining, enough to let your Bunker swim naturally, Striped Bass will eat the Bunker head first. Hook the Bunker behind the dorsal fin, being careful not to hook it in the spine, killing it. There’s a fine art to live lining, patience is important, you must make sure the Bass has the bait, many fisherman get excited and try to set the hook too early and actually pull the Bunker out of the Stripers mouth.
Live lining is my favorite method of catching Stripers! Another good technique is casting small artificial lures; bucktails, rubber shad bodies and swimming lures. Remember to retrieve these very slowly; the fish can be sluggish in the cold water.
Around the middle of the month Fluke should start showing up at Prospect Point, Sands Point, Hewlett Point and off Harts Island. I like to buck tail for my Fluke; using a seven
foot spinning outfit, a three to four foot Fluorocarbon leader tied directly to a one ounce or two ounce bucktail, depending on the strength of the current. Your buck tail must be bouncing along the bottom, that’s where Fluke live and it must be very active. Fluke are predators, they like chasing down their prey; you must get your buck tail to imitate a live bait to be most successful. Fresh Spearing and Squid cut into tapered four to five inch strips; it’s important because you don’t want your bait to spin unnaturally. Gulp four inch curly tails work great also, sometimes they will out fish fresh bait, I always make sure I have two or three different colors; I will also use two Gulp curly tails, running one up the hook and one just tipped through my hook. When I use this technique, I always use two different colors; I like the contrast and my baits profile. Once you have hooked a Fluke, keep your rod tip up, reeling slow and steady to the surface. Keep your fish under the surface of the water till your net is ready; this will keep the Fluke from going crazy. Net your Fluke head first, never lift a Fluke over the rail; many doormats have been lost doing that. Try different depths until you figure out where the fish are; I use the tracking feature on my sonar machine to pinpoint where I’m catching, why take long
unproductive drifts if you know where the fish are holding.
Porgies will also start moving into our area this month; they can provide a lot of action and are a great way to introduce kids to fishing. They give a great fight, are not too hard to catch once you get them around the boat. Any light boat rod can be used and store bought Porgy rigs work fine also. Fresh clams or Sand worms are the choice baits for Porgies. Chumming will greatly improve your chances when fishing for Porgies; frozen Clam logs in your chum pot dropped to the bottom will get the job done; every once in a while shake the pot a little.
You have worked hard to catch your fish; always make sure you have a cooler full of ice to store your fish in until you get home, it will make a big difference at dinner that night.
Catch ‘em up!!!!
BY TOMMY KAMPA
