Article Written by various contributors. Article Read Time 6 Minutes
With the striped bass season in full swing all along the Northeast Coast, we are seeing anglers catching large bass in record numbers. The July 4th weekend is shaping up for good weather, so we are sure to see plenty of anglers out on the water looking for fish. With an extensive list of Cortland dealers in the Northeast, we've compiled just a few reports along the coast to help out this season.
Long Island Sound
With the warm weather, fishing is best in the early morning hours up until about 7:30 am. That's when the water temps are coolest and you can find fish near shore foraging on the vast numbers of sand eels that are about. Watch for birds diving and bait rippling on the surface. Small sand eel imitations, Clousers, and Silverside patterns, and Pop Fleyes are working well right now, as the fish are keyed into this smaller-sized bait. The Stripers are largely ignoring larger flies closer to shore. We are starting to see some worm hatches as well, and fish can be found slurping them on the surface. In the deeper water, think sinking lines and larger flies such as Bunker patterns, and Hollow Flies. There have been a few Bluefish about willing to take a popper as well.
Matt – Compleat Angler
New Jersey
With July here and summer in full swing, the waters of Long Beach Island and the central New Jersey coast are warm and full of fishing opportunities. The summertime’s spotlight here is always on inshore fluke and offshore tuna. But there's also a great summertime striped bass fishery that can be enjoyed on light tackle and fly. It's not uncommon to also have feisty bluefish from 1-10# show up to the party too. Right now we have a variety of summertime bait presence fueling the action; peanut bunker, spearing, cinder worms, grass shrimp, baby blue crabs. Fish the structure (rocks, rips, bowls, gutter) and match the hatch to connect.
The push of migratory bass has for the most part passed so don't expect classy fish. However, the Long Beach Island surf, Barnegat Inlet and Barnegat Bay all offer resident striped bass fishing all summer long. Most of these linesiders are schoolies, under the 28" but there are larger ones. Here’s a nice bass that was caught by Cortland Line Co Pro Staff Jack Keating a few days ago. He caught this 33" striped bass fishing the Long Beach Island surf on a Stack Tackle Screwy Jig with Cortland Master Braid.
For more fishing report details be sure to check in and stay tuned to our fishing report chronicles and vlog at www.FishingLBI.com
Greg – Fishermens Headquarters
Massachusetts
July is here and the Massachusetts Striper fishing is in full swing. Both shore and boat fly anglers are having success as the bass move further north and start to settle in for the summer. For anglers fishing off the Cape and the islands, bass are in the rips keying in on sand eels and squid. If your typical larger squid flies aren't producing, try downsizing to a smaller more realistic sand eel pattern. For Boston Harbor, larger flies are starting to produce as the pogy bite heats up. For the north shore of Massachusetts, anglers are doing well all the way from Marblehead to Plumb Island. Wherever you find yourself along coast, if you're targeting Stripers off the beach, it's been hard to beat your classic olive over white Clouser or a larger Half & Half as fish are eating a mix of larger and smaller bait. The flats fishing is continuing to stay hot, so if you're seeing fish don't forget to have a couple crab flies in your box. Don't wait to get out on the water, the fishing has been good and we should have a great month of July ahead of us.
Andy – Concord Outfitters
