August is an amazing month to be fishing on Long Island. So many species to target both inshore and offshore, and no better place to beat the heat than on the water. Novice or expert, August is the month where anyone has a shot to get into some excellent fishing.
Inshore, the most popular fish to chase is summer flounder, aka fluke. With plenty of spearing, squid and snappers present, these fish are chewing in August. There’s a wide range of areas they prefer, one of the better ones being in the general area of a reef or wreck. You can use a basic rig of your mainline to a three-way swivel, a short leader with a bank sinker on mono so if you do get snagged it will break off and you won’t lose the whole rig, and a longer leader with a rubber squid skirt over your hook. Fluke are just as aggressive on live or dead bait as they are for artificial baits like Gulp of Fishbites. If you’re using artificial baits, be sure to “recharge” them every few drifts by soaking them in the bait scent liquid in their original packaging. When using spearing, use a few pieces of bait but before putting those on the hook your first thing on the hook should be a squid strip or fluke belly strip. Sea robin belly strips will work as well and at least these pesky by catch fish serve a purpose. It’s not a popular opinion and the yield off sea robins is minimal but the meat on their tails is delicious. An alternate setup to use when fluke fishing is a high low setup. Letting depth and current dictate the weight, tie or clip on a bucktail at the bottom and about 6 inches above that tie a dropper loop to have a single hook or small bucktail teaser. Most fluke have migrated from the bays to the ocean by August but some of the flats will still hold fish.
Striped bass are few and far between in August but every now and then you can come across a cow. Your chances are better all the way east in Montauk and in the dark drifting live eels over structure.
Weakfish are another inshore species that are eager to take a bite at bucktails and soft plastics. Focus on moving water and some kind of structure like jetties and holes.
The reefs and wrecks all along the south shore of the Island come alive in August. Porgies, ling, black seabass, trigger fish all stick close to structure and succumb to small pieces of clam and diamond jigs. If you are fishing in Montauk which has some of the cooler ocean temperatures and are to get into porgies, try live lining one in the rips. Quite a few trophy bass that stayed behind the rest of the herd are often waiting for a nice meal.
It’s been a strange year with the typical abundance of bunker pods not showing up. Like everything in fishing that could change in the blink of an eye. When you spot a pod, it’s worth spending some time working it. Sharks (brown, hammerhead, thresher), cobia, blue fish, and even stripers are possible when live lining snagged bunker in a scenario like this. Throwing oversized surface lures or jigging a flutter spoon can be effective as well.
The tuna bite has been hot since early July and August shows no signs of things slowing down. From the trenches of the canyons to mid shore wrecks from 20-50 miles offshore yellowfin and bluefin tuna have been very active. On the troll, jigging, or popping have all landed some amazing specimens. Sand eels and squid are around and the tuna love both. Soft plastics like Ron Z and NLBN worked up and down the water column have had incredible results. When marking fish at the bottom, UVT jigs have been outstanding in inciting a bite. Jigging is a lot of work and often well rewarded. The more you work the jig, the better your chances for a core memory. UVT has also released a line of poppers for this season. The exceptional eyes of a tuna along with offshore water quality will raise fish from depths of 60 feet or more when they think there’s a wounded bait fish at the surface. Being on the other end of a tuna exploding on a popper is a shot of adrenaline most people never get to experience. With jigs, soft plastics and poppers, once the fish strikes don’t go soft on the hook set. The jaws of these fish are very tough, and the fights are rarely quick. Multiple hook sets are the norm before the sweet symphony of a screaming drag starts to play.
Catch ‘em up and enjoy the last days of summer!