Action good in advance of striper season

With striped bass season set to open in New York's marine waters on Sunday, local anglers are pumped. For nearly a month, bass fans have been playing catch and release with school-class fish in the West End bays and tidal creeks. Ditto for the harbor waters of western Long Island Sound. There have also been bigger bass feeding in ocean waters off the South Shore, giving rise to fishing trips on which anglers target cod, ling or inshore winter flounder, and then catch and release linesiders on the way home.

"We've seen some really good action with both the bass and winter flatties," said Nick Savene, skipper of the Oceanside charter vessel No Time. "We've been limiting out with the flatties in 10- to 20-foot depths at Romer Shoal, the Coney Island flats and across the New York Bight in Raritan Bay, then banging bass in 15- to 18-pound class on the way back to port."

Flounder fishing in the ocean has been surprisingly impressive. Savene's fares have already decked a half-dozen blackbacks weighing more than 3 pounds this year. Tuesday saw Tim O'Conner hoist a pair that each weighed 3 pounds, 8 ounces, and Wednesday witnessed another 3-pounder taken by Jonah Anastos. Bloodworms and mussels have been the top baits.

"We can't wait to put a few bass in the fish box," said Savene. "Most of the bass have fallen to diamond jigs or whole clam baits."

A similar pattern has established itself out of Fire Island Inlet, where some Captree fleet boats have made solid catches working flatties and stripers on the same trip. Captain Rob Andresen's Captree Princess, for example, jigged and released a half-dozen stripers Thursday morning before limiting out with 52 flounder and a 10-pound cod. He fished in 40-foot depths near the Fire Island artificial reef.

If you plan to head out soon, try tossing bunker chunks or live bunker in western Long Island Sound, dunking whole clam baits along open ocean beaches near any inlet, or work tins and bucktails along the South Fork oceanfront.

Current striper regulations for marine waters in New York State allow charter and open boat anglers to keep two fish per day measuring more than 28 inches. All other anglers get one fish over 28 inches plus one over 40 inches.

Family fishing

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, will hold its annual Spring Family Fishing Festival at Belmont Lake State Park starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. No fishing license is needed to join the fun. For details, visit www.ifishnewyork.org.

email: outdoortom@optonline.net