Stripers and blues begin to bite with a passion

If you thought the slight cooling trend of the past week would quickly usher in the fall run of stripers and blues while sending warm water visitors packing, you were half right.

More and bigger bass and blues arrived on the scene recently, but the bite in general still has a late-summer feel.

Case in point is the 12-inch tarpon that Tony Caroleo hooked Monday while targeting Jamaica Bay porgies and weakfish in 20-foot depths off Floyd Bennett Field. Caroleo, who has caught many large tarpon in Florida waters, released the fish and noted it didn't seem out of place considering he had hauled plenty of triggerfish, blue runners, Sheepshead and small jacks.

While southern visitors are hanging tough, there is no doubt they'll soon retreat. Water temperatures are slipping into the low 70s and stripers and bluefish are responding. The linesiders infused Fire Island Inlet with new life starting Wednesday; good scores with a generous number of keepers were hauled in by some Captree Fleet boats.

"Bass fishing is good right now, and it's still building," said Captain Walter Czekaj of the open boat Fishfinder II. "We've caught well this week with a mix of shorts and keepers to 25 pounds hitting clams. Wednesday saw 17 keepers come aboard with numerous blues to 10 pounds."

Choppers to 12 pounds also seemed to like the gusty winds on the North Shore earlier this week. Anglers dunking bunker chunks on night tides between Wading River and Mattituck, have been drilling the toothy predators, plus a smattering of bass up to 20 pounds. Keeper bass also showed at Shinnecock Inlet on the top of outgoing water.

Still, the undisputed hot spot for keeper stripers remains Montauk. The fishing came alive in the surf at midweek with linesiders ranging from big schoolies to 20 pounds smacking darters or needlefish after dark, and bucktails or bottle plugs in the daylight.

The north side has ruled supreme at night while the day crew has encountered some blitzes at Camp Hero with some action on the north side as well. Boaters continue to limit out at a steady rate with fish to 30 pounds favoring eels at night and live croakers during the day at Great Eastern and The Elbow. Light-tackle and fly-rodding enthusiast are also getting in their fun with smaller bass, blues and false albacore from Gardiners Island to Montauk Light.

If you would just as soon target smaller blues, snappers are now flooding the inlets and stacked at harbor and river mouths. Try your luck with a snapper popper or small tin where the Peconic, Connetquot, Nissequogue or Carlls River spill out and you may find the action bordering on furious.

Looking ahead

Fluke season ends Sunday . . . Blackfish season opens Oct. 5. The size limit is 16 inches and you can creel up to four per day . . . LI's archery season for whitetails begins Monday . . . The Tobay Beach In-Water Boat and Brokerage Show runs through Sunday. Visit nyboatshows.com. Email: outdoortom@optonline.net