2007 FISHING REPORTS

Jan 1, 2008 (Another Season Closes)

Boy am I sorry for the lack of reports since late Nov.  Thing is, we were fishing hard all the way up to Christmas, then there was a mad rush to get the boats out and winterized before heading to San Diego for the holidays.  But enough already with the excuses.  December was cold, cold, cold.  But we managed to fish right though it.  I was a little disappointed that we never saw a run of what I consider to be big fish (those bass over 20-pounds).  Still, I can't complain about the quantity.  There were schoolies everywhere, everyday and there were a few larger fish mixed in.  All in all, December was a pretty good month.  And in the case you haven't already heard, there were medium bluefin tuna busting bait very close to the beach throughout the month.  I had a good pod of 200-plus pounders crashing bait right in front of my boat not two weeks ago in 25' of water.  Imagine that!  Even saw my friend get spooled by one in about a minute and a half.  So cool to see these awesome fish so close to shore.  In fact, I would have kept the boats in, but it just got too cold too quickly, and it's no fun pulling a boat out when there is ice on the ramp.  So we're done for the season.  Below are a few photos from the December run.  Thanks for all the business this year.  We'll have the boats back in the water early in April, and traditionally we've had good fishing from mid-April on.  Generally we start booking up good in February.  So, for those prime late April and May dates, get in touch with us soon.  Happy New Year!

Nov 29 (Still Going)

While Jamaica Bay is for all intents-and-purposes done for the year, there are still plenty of bass on the ocean side.  Every day the weather has allowed us to get out there, we have been greeted with birds and busting fish.  And the action has lasted all day really.  It's still mostly schoolies, but if you look around for a bit you can stumble on some schools of much better fish.    There are some busting bluefin a few miles out, but they are totally impossible, unless of course you can anticipated where the fish are going to break and make a 150-yard cast backhanded and into the wind.  These are big fish also.  One to two-hundred pounders.  Not the kind of fish you could hope to tackle with "light" gear.  We are still no where near the end of the season.  Of course there is the possibility of a major weather event which could shut things down right quick, but barring that, we've still got the herring run to look forward to.  And that means big aggressive fish!

Nov 21 (Going Strong)

Things slowed quite a bit in the back of the bay this week.  That big body of bass that we had for the last 4 weeks seems to have moved on.  I do expect we will see another group of fish head back there to feed on all those bunker before the end of the season, but for now it is slow, slow, slow.  Boy it was nice when we only had to run a few hundred yards from the marina before we were into fish, but that kind of thing couldn't last forever.  Still, the fishing remains very good.  There are lots and lots of bass and bluefish out the outside.  When the weather has enabled us to get out there, we've been doing quite well.  There are some schoolies, but the majority of fish seem to be really good ones with some in the high 30" range.  There have been sparse and scattered schools of bluefin out there as well, but totally uncatchable as far as I can tell.  Not enough of them and they are skittish.  I haven't heard of anyone, save one or two guys trolling ballyhoo, get any.  There are however, more bottlenose dolphin out there than I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life!  Very cool.  These things were chasing bait all around the boat.  And speaking of bait, there's all kinds of stuff out there: baby weakfish, butterfish, peanut bunker, sandeels and even sardines!  Water temp is still relatively high.  At the very least we've got another month of fishing left.  Give us a shout if you want to get out there before it's all over.  charters@nycflyfishing.com. 

Nov 15 (Full on striper blitzes...  Every day!)

Wow...  Sorry for the late report this time around.  Been fishing hard!  And it's been pretty good.  As readers are well aware, it finally got cold and the stripers have turned on in a big way.  For the past two-weeks we've been catching good numbers of bass right outside the marina.  It's 10 to 1 schoolies but there are most certainly some big fish out there.  The number of peanut bunker in the water is truly extraordinary.  We've had blitzing fish every day for a good two and a half weeks.  On some days the bass are pushing the peanuts up in into shallow water.  We're throwing poppers at these fish and they are just getting smashed!  The cold weather definitely isn't stopping us.  The boats will more-than-likely stay in at least till Christmas.  We've still got the herring run to look forward to, and that's when we'll see the really big fish.

Nov 1 (The albies have left the building, but the bass have taken over)

Yeah, well, it was good while it lasted.  As I've said many times, it was the best albie year I've ever seen in Lower New York Harbor.  However, the bass made a showing this week in both size and numbers, and it's about time.  We saw some real quality fish, and lost a bunch of real big ones also.  But such is the case with flyfishing.  Some you win, some you lose.  The peanut bunker are still super-abundant and the back-bay is one fire.  Morning blitzes characteristic of late October/early Nov are happening with great frequency.  Can't tell you how many 20-plus pound fish we've seen chasing peanuts on the surface.  Getting those fish to eat has been not-so-easy on some days and on others they will pounce on anything!  Boy it's fun to fish poppers when this happens.  Many of these blitzes are taking place in just a couple feet of crystal water.  And BTW, the water in the back has been super clear because of the lack of rain this year.  Plenty of big bluefish around also.  What's particularly worthy of noting is that it's only gonna get better from here on out.  In fact, the fall bass migration is only just beginning.  We still have some dates open in Nov, so get it while it's good!

Oct 26 (Yep...  More Grand Slams)

Definitely some wind issues this week, but when we got out, it was just as good as it has been.  Plenty of schoolie bass in the back feeding on the abundant schools of peanut bunker.  Man these things are everywhere!  The bass aren't particularly big, but what's cool about them is that they have been in water that is anywhere from 10" to 4-feet.  I mean they are really that shallow.  For sure I'm gonna have to repaint my hull next spring it's been on the bottom so much.  The water in the back is crystal clear also, allowing for some great sight-fishing opportunities.  Way, way in the back are some mongo bluefish.  The kind that look like they can take off an arm.  And of course, the albies haven't left.  And why would they with the huge concentrations of bay anchovies and the unseasonably warm weather.  My guess is that they will be around well into November. 

Oct 16th (Grand Slam Week II!)

All I can say about the albie fishing this year is "WOW!"  More albies in Lower New York Harbor than anyone around here has ever seen.  Each day I see these massive blitzes and each day I say to myself "It can't get any better then this," and then guess what?  The following day it does get better!  It's gotta slow down at some point right?  The mornings have been producing great striper action in the back bay with bass blitzing peanut bunker in just a couple-feet of water.  These fish range upwards of 26" so we're still waiting on the big'uns to show, but fishing these things with poppers on 8-weights has been a blast and it's a good primer before hitting the albies.  And just for good measure, the bass are replaced by big ravenous bluefish in those same flats during the afternoon tides.  I mean, we're getting grand-slams every freak'n day!!!  It's silly! 

Oct 9th (Grand Slam Week!)

Oh man...  What a week of fishing...  Spent the first four days in Montauk then the rest fishing Jamaica Bay and Lower New York Harbor.  Believe it or not, my home waters fished quite a bit better.  Never seen an albie year like this one.  It's been really, really good.  So many bay anchovies around it's ridiculous, and this weather, with the exception of a day or two, has been superb. And to top if off the fishing in Jamaica Bay gets better every day.  We had numerous grand slams this weekend.  Even my sister got one on Sunday and it was her first time ever fishing!  I am astounded each morning by the masses of peanut bunker at the marina.  And just five minutes from the marina we're finding blitzing schoolies and some monster big bluefish in just a couple feet of water.  And what's really great about all of this is that it should only get better.  Looks like we've got a pretty big cold front coming.  Than may keep us off the water for a day or two, but when it calms down, the larger bass should be in, and I'm really stoked about that!  We've still got some really good dates available, so shoot us an email or give us a call: charters@nycflyfishing. 

Sept 21st

Crazy good albie fishing.  Man we killed them today.  One of the best albie days I've ever seen in my neck of the woods.  They were pushing bait up against the beach and we were getting them in about 5' of crystal clear water.  So cool.  You could see them follow and then smash the flies.  And man to these thing burn when they are in shallow water like that.  And the albie blitzes only got more intense as the day went on.  Some gigantic pods of bay-anchovies and some crazy big blitzes with albies leaping out of the water and bait spraying everywhere!  While it started a little late this year, the false albacore run is on!  It's on in a big way!!

 And to top it off we had a handful of bonito as well!  And, if you think it couldn't get any better we've got bass too!  For the last week we've been banging good fish at sunrise.  The mullet showed up with the cold front and the bass fishing has been sick at dawn.  We're getting them on poppers in some reallyshallow white-water.  It's kind of sketchy fishing, but it's really fun and really rewarding.  For a good idea of what it's like, check out my article on Extreme Flyfishing in Flyfishing in Saltwaters.  Of course, those big bluefish are still in the back and we've been having a good time with those brutes on the way back to the marina.  This fall is gonna be sick.  We're off to a real good start.  It's hard to believe that it is only going to get better from here on out.  But trust me...  It will! 

Sept 13th

The fishing in the back of the bay has been pretty darn good.  Lots of schoolie bass up along the sod bank.  Most fish are in the 20 to 25" range, but there are a few bigger ones here and there.  So much peanut bunker back there it's ridiculous.  The bass are taking full advantage pushing them up in just a couple-feet of water.  They've been pretty darn fun on 6 and 7-weights.  And the bluefish?  Forgetaboutit.  Sick blitzes starting mid-morning and lasting the entire day!  These fish are in the 10-pound range and are screamers.  So easy to catch too...  You can throw anything at them and they'll smash it on the surface.  Best part about it is we've been one of the only boats on these fish for the past two week.  Outside, it's a different story.  The bonito are still around, but the Jersey/Staten Island crowd is on them and they are just too spooky and picky.  With that being said however, they are indeed catchable and we managed a handful this week, just not in any numbers.  Albies are still a bit east of us, but with good weather and a willing crew we can certainly make that run.  All this wind, however, may bring them to us.  Will know by tomorrow.  The fall continues to shape up nicely.  I expect it will be a good one.  Surprisingly very little tropical storm activity.  Stay tuned, and give us a shout if you want to book a date.  charters@nycflyfishing.com. 

August 30th

Okay...  Here's the deal...  Lots of good weather this week and some crazy bluefish blitzes right outside of our marina.  To many bluefish over 15-pounds taken on both fly and light spin gear to list, and most of them have been in 3-foot of water or less.  If you are one of those bluefish snobs, then stop reading here.  Man seeing these monsters hit a popper or crease-fly is just awesome.  And when you get them in shallow water, every fish gets you into the backing right quick.  So cool when these fish jump and tail-walk across the surface.  So much freak'n fun.  On the outside, there are still schools of bonito around, but they've have become much more boat shy, and much more skittish.  Still, Azar and crew have managed to get a few.  Still no skipjack to speak of, but I'm holding out confidence that they will show.  Plus, if I were a betting man, I'd put money down that we're gonna see some albies this weekend.  Give us a shout.  We've got some really good dates available.  charters@nycflyfishing.com.

August 21st

All apologies for the lack of recent reporting.  Just got back from three weeks in Indonesia last Friday.  The fishing was good with plenty of shots at GTs on the fly as well as plenty of pelagics on the troll.  But the surfing was epic!  Really big and really clean beautiful water.  So much fun, but man, it's good to be back. Especially with the green bonito run we've been having.  Both David and Danny nailed over 20 bonito each on Friday.  And I hear the fishing for these little speedsters has been good for the last two weeks!  Unfortunately, this cold front that began on Saturday seems to have pushed them out for the time being, but hopefully they will come back when things warm up again.  Still no skipjack to speak of but I still think they will show.  Perhaps later in the week when the south wind kicks in.  I also expect that first run of false albacore any day now.  Historically, that third or 4th week in August is when they will show. There is so much bait in the water at the moment that when they do show it's gonna be nuts!  Never seen such concentrations of bay-anchovies and peanut bunker.  Even the dolphins are taking advantage.  We saw hundreds of them on Sunday.  But, putting pelagics aside for the moment, the bass fishing has been surprisingly good.  Got quite a few really nice fish on Sunday and a few were in the Bay, just outside of my marina.  And the bluefish?  Man, it's crazy good.  Big bluefish have been crashing peanuts on the outside and doing the same on the inside in just a few feet of water right up against the sod banks.  Fishing poppers for these things was a blast this weekend.  The bait situation in the back is pretty darn good also, with massive schools of peanut bunker flooding out of all the harbors and creeks.  We're at the very beginning of what is shaping up to be a really great fall.  Danny, David and I still have some prime dates open (even on the weekends!).  Give us a call or shoot us an email charters@nycflyfishing.com and we'll get-ya on the calendar.     

July 30

Summer doldrums?  Yeah...  Kinda...  I guess...  But there has most certainly been plenty of action during the past two-weeks.  Bluefish, some of which are quite large, have been marauding bait each and every morning, and head offshore a bit and they get exponentially larger.  There are even some bass offshore if you can believe it.  Although, in truth we haven't been targeting these fish as striped bass fishing is illegal outside of 3 nautical-miles, but certainly one can't help it when they grab a fly or plug when targeting bluefish.  When the weather doesn't permit us to go outside, inside J.Bay has held the usual contingent of schoolie bass.  Pretty fun when you can fish these little critters in the creeks with a 6wt.  And even more fun when a big blue unsuspectingly grabs your offering and leaps out of the water before escaping with your fly.  Now...  On to more interesting things.  Have we seen any tunas yet?  The short answer is no, but  it's not for lack of trying.  Ran a good 30-miles on Friday looking for them for not.  Now, here's the big "but"...  One of my buddies came back to the marina yesterday with a half-dozen good-looking mahi.  And while I won't say where he caught them here, it is most certainly within striking distance.  And...  He said he had seen quite a few bonito and skipjack bouncing around.  So, perhaps, as of yesterday, they have arrived.  Unfortunately, and fortunately, I'm headed to Indonesia today to surf uncrowded pristine big-ass waves...  Really psyched about that, although somewhat bummed I'm going to be leaving these alleged tuna.  The good news is Capt. David Azar is tooled up, fired up and ready to go, and he has some prime dates in the next two weeks.  So shoot him an email captdaveazar@aol.com or give him a call at 917 287-5822.  Me, I'll be back by Aug 16th, and we should be thick into any tuna run by then and should begin to see false albacore as well.  I've got some great dates as well, including some weekends that should be good.  Shoot me an email and we'll make it happen: charters@nycflyfishing.com.  

July 13

Well...  I've been up in Cape Cod trying to get one of those big bluefin tuna.  They've been in Cape Cod Bay in real good number this summer.  Witnessed some unbelievable blitzes.  Fished with a great guide.  If you want to get into the bluefin thing I highly recommend Capt. Jeff Smith.  The guy has it wired: www.finaddiction.com.  Just seeing these big animals crashing bait on the surface is worth the price of admission.  Capt. David has been hanging local and killing the bass.  Every year, bookings get slow in July and August. Most folks think it's a slow time of the year, thus not worth booking a trip, but in recent years, that has proven to be just wrong.  Check out Capt. Dave's report:

The bass action in New Jersey just keeps on going. there are tens of thousands of bunker just off the beach from Sandy Hook to Deal and south. Anglers who are lucky enough to be at the right jetty at the right time are getting in on some crazy surf action with stripers averaging 25 to 30 pounds! I was lucky enough to get a call last Thursday and boht my nephew, Haim and I, landed 25 pound bass on plugs from a jetty. Then I took photos of the insane action. From the boat I got in on it with Dr. Ron on Sunday morning and again Monday evening with Steve Rahmey and Abie Mizrahi. Abie fought a fish that had to be the biggest bluefish I have ever seen, approaching 20 pounds. The jetty action was on again tonight and last night in the fog and rain, with multiple beaches in the Deal area producing bass in the 30 pound class. In 32 years of fishing I have never seen anything like this.

GIVE US A CALL OR SHOOT US AN EMAIL AND WE'LL GET YOU OUT THERE.  JULY IS NOT SLOW!

July 3rd:

Breezy Point has been going off!  Bass blitzes on both the east and west sides have been regular occurrences and the fish have been eating well when the wind has allowed us to fish it.  Nothing terribly large, but plenty of fish in the 25 to 30" range.  Some weakfish mixed in as well.  There also continues to be plenty of big bluefish in the Coney Island area.  All of the feeding activity seems to be on sand-eels.  The sight-fishing wasn't good this week because of lack of visibility on the days we've been booked.  Those fish are most certainly there though and we're hoping to get better conditions in the near future.  In Jamaica Bay, we've had some success before the sun comes up throwing poppers against the sod banks.  These fish are all schoolies though with "bigger" fish being in the 25" range.  On the pelagic front, we are still a bit early, but we expect that fishing to pick up soon.  Surprisingly, many folks consider July and August the "slow" season in Lower New York Harbor.  This is not the case.  During prior years these Breezy Point bass blitzes have become commonplace.  And without a doubt, the sight-fishing is best in July.  And, August is the moth of skipjack, mahi-mahi and if we are lucky, bluefin tuna.  So give us a shout if you want to book at date. 

June 26 Update:

The sand-eels are in solid on the white sand flats and the water is crystal!  The sight-fishing is on!!!  Enough said... 

We have dates!  Email us! charters@nycflyfishing.com. 

June 21 update:

Schoolie city this week.  The back bay was loaded with them.  Not terribly large fish, but they were in the flats.  We could work miles of sod banks in as little as a foot of water and bass up to 26" were hammering poppers, crease-flies, sliders and anything else you wanted to throw at them.  Fishing them on 6 and 7-weights was a blast, and when they are that shallow they scream!  On the good days with little wind we could get around 50-fish before the sun got high.  These fish seemed to be feeding on spearing, but they would spit up grass-shrimp as well.  Outside it was sand-eels galore and medium to big bluefish under birds in really good numbers..  Again, lots of quantity.  Managed to break two rods this week on these things.  We did manage to pull a few nice-sized stripers out of the mix out there, and I saw some real pigs follow the bluefish up.  But the ones we were hooking were in the 28" range.  I hear these fish outnumber the bluefish at dawn, but I've been busy knocking the schoolies dead along the sod-banks in the back.  Did a day of live-lining last weekend.  While it started off slow, it picked up right quick as we got a 30-pounder to take a bunker fished in about 20' of water.  Farther towards the front we managed to bang a few fish in the low 20-pound class.  That fishery is quickly dying though and bluefish are taking over.   There are still some monsters to be had livelining off the Jersey Coast though and Capt. Dave has a boat down there right now, so give us a shout if you want to get on that.  On the flats front, yes there are fish and the water clarity is superb, but still not quite in the quantity to make an entire day of it.  The sand-eels still haven't taken root, but I expect that to happen soon.  Danny, David and I still have some prime dates.  Give us a shout.

June 14 update:

A weird week this week.  The grass shrimp were going strong on Friday and we were killing them on crease flies, clousers, poppers, you name it.  Schoolies smashing flies in only a foot or two of very clear water.  Lots of fun on the 7-weights.  Then Saturday, an east wind rolled around and killed it.  Save for a few small bluefish, we got skunked!  Sunday was quite different.  We decided not to flyfish, but to dunk some live bunker instead in the hope that we would nail one of these really big weakfish you might have seen in the angling press.   After getting a dozen livies we dropped the first one down in a secret spot.  On the first drift we nailed a 30" 11-pound fish.  Not too shabby...  Next drift, a really nice bass.  We got a few more before the bluefish took over. But these were way big bluefish.  They made short work of the remaining bunker, so we started throwing bucktails and small tins, and managed to get one of the largest bluefish I'd ever seen.  Monday, I had a couple of fly anglers, one of which really wanted to take a fish for the table, so we started off livelineing and immediately accomplished that goal.  After a few more runnoffs/biteoffs, we decided to spend the rest of the day flyfishing.  After banging a few small bluefish, we went back to a secret spot where there were loads of bunker and dredged some big bunker flies underneath the school.  On the third drift we hooked into a fish that appeared 30-plus-pounds.  Unfortunately, after a brief fight the angler made the perfect trout angler mistake.  When the fish turned and came back, instead of rapid striping back the line, he lifted the rod and tried to real it back it.  The fish immediately spit the hook...  Ahhhhh!!! What can you do?  Things died rather quickly after that.  Thankfully, the those big cruising/tailing bluefish are still in the skinny water.  Yesterday Danny did a number on the schoolies with his sports in the back of the bay.  He estimated that he nailed around 20-fish, but nothing over 26".  The good new was that he got them in just a few feet of water, and that's always fun.  Breezy point has really sucked this year.  Not much in the way of bait out there and we're not seeing the blitzing bass like we did in prior years.  Let's hope that changes.  Not fishing today because of all the wind, but looking forward to see what Friday and the weekend bring.  I'm hoping for sunny weather and good sight-fishing conditions.  The fish are in those white sand-flats we just need the weather to get them.  Make sure to check back next week, we'll see-ya on the water. 

June 5 update:

Again with the grass-shrimp this week.  Most mudflats with adjacent cord grass were full of hatching grass shrimp.  This created very consistent fishing with schoolie bass and smaller bluefish.  Lots of fun when fishing poppers on 7-weights.  But once clients got their fill, it was off in search of larger fish.  Fortunately, we've had a consistent presence of big gator bluefish in very shallow water at a "secret spot"...  Unfortunately, that spot happens to be right up against JFK airport, thus when the security wonks come on duty, they are either chasing us out, or worse yet, writing us tickets!  Your homeland security tax dollars at work folks.  Funny thing about it is that you can fish there for two hours at dawn before anyone bothers you.  Thus, if you were a terrorist, you would just have to get up a bit early to get a jump on things.  Regardless, you can get just as close, if not closer to the airport runways via Rockaway Blvd.  But still, the Port Authority has to justify their existence at and around JFK somehow, and I guess they do so by harassing anglers.  Oh well...  Nothing to do about that but complain.  But back to the point, these bluefish have been finning and daisy chaining in shallow water.  They are very picky, but definitely catchable.  For more info on this check out my feature article on the subject which ran last year in Sport Fishing Magazine.  And, on the drop-offs in this area there have been some scattered, but nice bass taking flies and jigs fished deep.  Still plenty of bunker around.  Livelined one day this weekend in the back of the bay and it was surprisingly difficult.  Did manage a few nice ones though, but if you don't get a bunch livelining, it means the bass are on their way out of the bay and it's time to be fishing out front.  And speaking of which, the outside is where things got really interesting this week.  Capt. Azar had a good amount of action on one of the shallow breaking bars.  This big swell we had on Monday created a lot of white water there and David got a few big bass and bluefish throwing poppers.  And...  There are sandeels on the flats and while we haven't had great conditions to sight-fish yet, we have most certainly seen fish in the sand-flats, but way to late to get shots at them.  I'm hoping to do this for most of the day tomorrow as the weather looks good for it.  Will let you know how I do, so continue to check in.  On that note, because of a recent cancellation, we have the weekend open!  Give us a call or shoot us an email if you want to book it.  I expect the fishing to be quite good. 

May 31 update:

Grass shrimp galore this week.  Anybody that does this with some regularity knows what that means...  Bass in shallow, shallow water just about all day.  That was pretty much the story for the entire week.  These aren't particularly large fish, but some are still good size, and when you get them in two-feet of water it's quite fun.  Add a 7-weight to the scenario and it's a blast!  There are still some big bass on the bunker schools, and while I didn't do any live-lining this week, I saw some other boats pull up some real big bass.  We took mostly bluefish when dredging bunker patterns under the schools, but we did manage a few stripers in the 30-plus-inch range doing that this week.  We've also had some fun throwing poppers on both flyrods and light spin gear to big tailing bluefish in just a few feet of water.  These things are hard to feed, but when they eat they tear off that flat, jump, tail-walk etc.  Lots of fun.  We should be seeing those sandeels soon. And if the water-clarity is good, I expect for some of those flats on the backside of Breezy to begin holding bass, and I expect that we'll be sight-fishing them soon.  We still have some good dates available to do this, so give us a call and/or shoot us an email. 

May 23rd update:

Off and on again this week, but when it was good it was darn good!  There is so much bait around it is ridiculous.  The bunker is so thick at times it looks like you can walk on it.  Time to get out those 10" bunker patters (or of-course a weighted treble).  There is also an abundance of spearing that really flooded the bay today.  At around 10:00AM we saw bluefish and bass blitzes reminiscent of the fall.  This warm front that really just showed itself yesterday has really turned on Jamaica Bay.  But that's now.  We had a good amount of wind and colder weather prior to, and the fishing was okay to poor during those days.   Those fish that we had in the flats don't seem to be there right now, but I expect them to move back soon.  We've gotten a few on poppers in the early AM but not in any numbers like the prior week.  I imagine this weekend is going to be pretty killer.  David and Danny still have some prime dates available.  Email or call us and we'll get you on the books.

May 14th update:

A darn good week of fishing and aside from a little wind here and there, surprisingly good weather.  The schoolie action was not as consistent as it was the prior week, but we have some bigger fish in.  We've also got bass eating in the flats, and Duncan Blair took the first flats fish of the year on a popper in only two-foot of water.  And that's really good news for those folks taking pre-work trips this week.  Overall, aside from the off-day here and there it's been fishing quite well in Jamaica Bay.  Outside, there are big bluefish galore, 8 to 10-pounders David Azar reports.  There are some bass underneath them as well.   And speaking of bass, I've been doing a little live-lining (I'm unashamed to say) here and there with great success.  Plenty of fish in the 20-pound range on both days we fished livies last week.  Hey...  Don't knock it till you try it....  The weather is looking somewhat poor for the beginning of the week, but later on it should be good and I expect the fishing to continue to get better each day.  Bottom line is the fishing is good, so make it a point to get out there...  The month of May rocks!

May 7th update:

Wow!  What can I say about the last two weeks.  The fishing totally opened up.  We've been catching fish solid from April 29th on.  The better the weather the better the fishing.  On the fly, it has been schoolie city with the occasional bass in the 30-plus-inch range.  We've been getting about a half-dozen of those larger fish a day and around 25 to 30 schoolies in the 25-inch range.  Many of these fish we've been taking on the surface with poppers, but the majority of the action is on intermediate lines.  The fish still haven't move up into the flats, but I expect that to happen any day now.  Oddly enough, fly-anglers are out-fishing the spin folks two-to-one.  I've also done a couple of live-lining trips, both of which resulted in substantial catches, but we're definitely not seeing the really big fish that we should on these bunker schools.  With that being said however, there was a 40-plus-pound bass taken on the fly on Saturday by Vince.  I didn't believe the fish was actually that large, so I told my anglers to reel in so we could check it out.  I zoomed over there and sure enough, it was a humongous fish (see photo below)!  So they are out there for sure folks.  Looks like more good weather on the way.  Both Danny and David have prime dates available, and I've got some really good pre-work opportunities for those folks that want a crack at these fish and still get to work on time.  Give us a ring: 718 757-7339 or shoot us an email: charters@nycflyfishing.com.  I expect we'll have crazy good fishing like this well into June, but I don't expect these available dates to last long.

Capt. John McMurray