[618447]

Crazy,
On Sun.am(10am-12:30) i fished Port Jeff area, with little success. I was limited w/time, so i decided not to drive far & stay near buoy 11(11am hightide). There is a big drop off where the water goes from 20ft-85ft(high tide). There was a lot of boat traffic at the buoy, so i decided to head shallow-200yrds from the beach by the "pink house". We caught 2keeper fluke, 2shorts & i bluefish. We used silverbullets & white bucktails, all tipped w/squid & spearing. Should i have stayed at drop-off, went deeper, or stayed shallow? A friend of a friend seems to hit well in that area near the drop off, but i am not sure if he is fishing the 20ft range or the slope of the drop off. Al, what do you think the best spot would be...i think i should have stayed close to the beach if i was about 4hrs early near day break...
-Do you think the fluke stay on the flat bottom areas(meaning 20ft range water), or should i always concentrate on the drop off
-Should i get an electric engine & power my way across the drop-off....so i can keep from drifting too deep??? This is my first week out....& i hope i haven't missed the run..... Sorry for the endless questions....Thanks for your help.
-mikeyT

 

[seaslug44]

mikeyt413,

I fish out of Kings Park and I am often in the area that you are asking about. To be honest with you, the fish are all over, from right on the beach to all the way into the deep. Yes they are on the drop-off, but I have had better success in much more shallow water.

As a matter of fact, my magic number in that area is 17. That is the DEEPEST that I fish. The best days are those with South winds and outgoing tide. They allow me to power right up to the beach in about 6 feet of water and drift back. Before you hit that 20 foot plain that you described, there is a steady slope from shore. I find most of my quality fish in that area from the 6 foot depths to 17. Depsite what the book says, this is true at anytime, not just at dawn.

Right now there are a ton of baby sand eels in the area. Most times they are right against the beach. A few days ago I was rewarded with a 5.52lb and a 5.89lb in no more than 10 feet of water. Both fish had tummies that were loaded with sand eels. The guys fishing in the 20 to 60 foot depths were slamming nothing but sea robins and short fluke.

 

[618447]

Doc,
Thanks for the help...I didn't get to fish last year, so i was alittle confused when i went out over the w/e. I have had success like you mentioned & never fish the BIG drop off b/c it is too hard to stay on it....
Doc- when people say they fish Smithtown Bay, is this the area just west of porpoise channel? Is the smithtown art.reef productive? Could you recommend a GPS/Fish Finder, so that i can work these areas alittle more efficiently. I was looking at the Garmin 162 or 168. I am working on the boat i just bought & once i sell my old one- i will be able to buy the proper electronics...
thanks for the help!!

 

[Crazy-Al]

Hello Mikeyt413,

I would not discount that dropoff because I am sure it should hold some impressive fish during the moving tide! However, if Doctorfish says there are lots of "bait"(sandeels) in a specific area… I would definitely work the area hard because that's where the fish will be!

Also… the key to a successful fluke trip is to move around! Work the shallow (early lights) and look for signs of baitfish! As the day progresses… work deeper and look for dropoffs and ledges! On any given day… you can find them on top of the piece and many times… by the bottom!

As far as depth is concerned… I've had great early morning innings from 6 ft. and as deep as 110 ft. during a bright afternoon day!

The key is structure and heavy bait concentration!

Hope this helps!

"Crazy" Alberto
[email protected]