By Jimmy Kallenberg
Well, many fishermen say the striped bass have left the Western Sound.
Not all, apparently.
Pictured is Christian with a nice striper in the 20 pound class. The bass was caught this past Sunday night using bunker chunks not far from Hart’s Island.
The fishing action this past weekend produced a lot of progies (scup) and a good amount of fluke (summer flounder). Although the action was good, keeper size was limited, especially west of Hempstead Harbor. My friend Pete had a dozen fluke with one keeper. My boys Bryan and Matt caught several fish, but no keepers. Matt hooked a “had ‘em” or “almost had ‘em” but never landed it on the deck.
Sandworms and clams as bait were bringing in the porgies.
While squid, spearing, and gulp produced fluke. Most fluke reports had a 2 to 1 ratio, with more sea robins being caught than fluke.
Most people when fishing for porgies use two hooks with a sinker on the bottom. When I’d fish for fluke, I’d use a high/low rig or a bucktail.
When using a high/low rig I’d put gulp on the top hook and a strip of squid with a spearing on the bottom.
When using a bucktail, I’d simply put a piece of gulp on the hook.
You can always tell who’s fishing for porgies or who’s fishing for fluke.
The porgy people keep the rods still, but are usually reeling in fish a lot more often than fluke fisherman.
The fluke people usually employ a slow up and down motion from the bottom which attracts the more aggressive fish.
East of Hempstead Harbor has produced bigger fluke, bigger porgies and bigger sea robins. If you read last week’s around the sound article, “With Right Cooking, Sea Robins Worth Catching.”
Yep, if cooked right, sea robins are worth catching.
By the way, in my reports if you have or haven’t noticed I’m always saying “I’d” or “I would.”
This is because I had an injury and surgery that has prevented me from going out on the water. It gets me a bit crazy when my fishing buddies and stations let me know what’s happening out on the sound.
Like Christian fishing with Joe, Marco and Vinny and sending me the picture of the bass they caught Sunday night.
At times it’s a tease because I’m a fishing addict. I love to fish. I love to teach and watch other people catch fish.
I can’t wait to get back on the water, but easy does it, as they say.
For those of you who are out of the sound and catching porgies, but don’t know how to cook them up, here’s a suggestion.
Most people I know cook them whole. First, scale, clean and remove the gill plate, then you can roast or grill it.
There are many different ways to season and prep the fish. Go online and you’ll see many excellent and easy recipes once the fish is cleaned.
As a reminder, here are the New York State fishing regulations for porgies, fluke, and striped bass.
