Long Island, NY has some of the richest fishing history in the country, and the people of Long Island take their fishing incredibly seriously. I always enjoy spending time with these folks, learning what I can from a culture of coldwater fisherman. Long Island anglers have all sorts of fishing at their fingertips: inshore blitzes of Striped Bass, False Albacore, and Bluefish, world record Weakfish and Fluke. Within sight of home there are schoolie Bluefin, while offshore to the canyons there are Swordfish and Big Eye Tuna.
These are the historic waters that the settlers fished when they arrived in this New World. The fishing villages on the coast are historic, and they offer old and authentic places to stay. The regional food ranges from fresh and honest to refined and complex, depending what you want. Walk these streets and tell the locals you are here to fish, and locals will be quick with a story, or a honey hole you have to fish.
Blitzes are the goldmine of Long Island anglers. They occur when masses of baitfish get flushed through a current area, and hundreds of game fish congregate to feed on them. Sometimes, the game fish are all the same species, while other times, a whole jumble of species gets mixed in together. At times, Bluefish slice through the top layer while monster Striped Bass wait below them, hoping to pick up the scraps.
Spring and Fall represent some of the best fishing opportunities on Long Island. One of the great features of this area is the fact that anglers do not need to have a boat. There is GREAT fishing from shore in many places around Long Island, and the same on surrounding smaller islands. If you have a proper offshore boat, the only thing keeping you from the Canyons is weather. The Canyons are off the Continental Shelf, and they run perpendicular to the main drop-off. This concentration of underwater structure holds bait and game fish, much of which is attracted through up-wellings. Canyons fishing can be absolutely epic when good, and the area nearly always gives up some decent fishing.
Travel to a destination fishery does not get much easier than it does in Long Island, and the number of experienced guides/captains up and down the coast is almost endless. Montauk is the pinnacle of Long Island fishing, and is a great destination. This past trip, I fished Orient Point on the “North Fork” or as the locals called it the “Quiet Fork” to great success, and would certainly recommend it. If you like inshore light tackle and fly fishing, or offshore big game, Long Island offers one of the best overall experiences you can find. Come give Long Island a try.