Nice, calm, Days Produce. Windy, choppy, overcast days don't.
I spent a total of 17 hours on the water over the last 4 days with very limited success. After hearing a very promising report from a good friend, I fished with my wife on a very calm days with partly cloudy skies on the outgoing tide. We had fish inside and outside the islands. What started out as a few fish popping here and there later turned into many fish (mainly 1-3) fish popping quite often.
My wife caught one fist cast and landed it quickly. We branched off from that area and went to deeper water where we found a pod of probably 50 albies feeding ferociously. My wife hooked up, then dropped it. I, then hooked up and landed one on a small Sebile stick shad. Never had tried that lure before but it provided me with several fish and a few more follows that day.
We also drove to LI, but were late to the party because when we got there it seemed as though the action was tapering off. So we came back to the islands and found fish feeding. We had a steady pick till the outgoing tide reached slack, which is when all action died completely.
I went out Friday afternoon with high hopes after hearing the same spots where hot again. I couldn't find the fish, probably because it was slack when I went out. I waited around and kept looking. Finally found a small pod working an area where are large amount of water moves through the islands. I could not connect because I was bombarded with 6 boats on the same pod in seconds of them popping up.
Saturday, the wind shifted South and it really messed up the albie bite locally. The strong wind from the South made the water get churned up and 2 footers were the norm all day. I had to focus my efforts in and around the islands, which I used as shelter to hide from the swells. I went out again later in the day with similar results...no albies. However a lot of bunker schools showed up just East of the Islands. There had been reports of some stripers and blues on them. We snagged and dropped a few bunker and they were chewed up by blues. We ended the evening by catching a 6lb blue on a deadly dick casting around the bunker schools.
Sunday the wind let up, I went out in the afternoon from 3-6pm. I drove from the islands to Stratford. The day before was apprently stellar. Sunday morning there were also fish seen breaking inside the islands, however, again when I went out, there were no albies seen, let alone caught.
Monday the wind shifted again from the East which created 3-4 swells inside the islands which made navigating difficult, let alone nearly impossible to spot an albie breaking the surface with all the whitewater. There were no albies seen, once again.
Tuesday's report from friends was there was fish everywhere. The one conclusion I can make it that the nicer the weather, the better the albie fishing locally. Anytime the wind kicks up over 10mph and changes directions drastically the fish really seem to hate that. It is also very evident that they are not showing themselves whenever the waves are greater than 1' chop.
Another observation that I have made is that they are not too line shy, and indiscriminate when it comes to lure selection or color. So far this year I have caught them on 15lb yellow powerpro main line, 12lb test fluorocarbon, 7/8 oz Hogy epoxy jigs in purple, pink, bone, olive, fluorescent yellow
I love fishing with my wife! She is the most enthusiastic and vocal fisherman that I know (besides myself) and that makes it so much fun. Not to mention I have never met anyone that gets bit so quickly and easily. She routinely casts into the mix and hooks up in the first try.
Huckleberry with an albie.
BASS AND BLUES: Showing up Early morning and evening around bunker schools. Snag and drop or cast large plugs.
SCHOOLIE BASS: Can be caught casting small lures around islands. Acion should pick up by later in the month.
ALBIES: HOT action depending on day and weather.
PORGIES and SEA BASS: Drop a jig down almost anywhere there is structure. You will catch them.
