Fishing forecast: Striped bass action along South Fork

If you're a surf-caster wondering where to hook up with a keeper striped bass this weekend, head east. Striper action has been smokin' hot along Long Island's South Fork. This has been especially true when the surf kicks up, which may happen this weekend as a predicted cold front slides through the area.

"The bass have been thick in the wash on windy days,'' said Bryce Poyer, proprietor of White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays, earlier this week. "The fishing has been about as good as it gets.''

Poyer said he and a friend each caught and released more than 100 stripers during the past week.

The Southampton surf has been the epicenter of the action, although outstanding catches at times have stretched from Montauk Point west to Shinnecock Inlet. Most of the stripers have fallen in the 6- to 15-pound class, but bass to 25 pounds have not been uncommon. Tins are generally the lures of choice because they cast easily beyond the breakers, but poppers and swim shads have produced as well.

"The amazing thing about all this,'' said Poyer, "is that bluefish have been exceptionally scarce. Occasionally a school of choppers rips through the wash, but linesiders are clearly dominating the suds at this point.''

Of course, there are plenty of stripers to be had by boaters, too, with consistent action from Montauk all the way west to Jones Inlet. Some of the more successful anglers have trolled tubes, umbrella rigs or bunker spoons in 30 to 40 feet of ocean water. Others have put diamond jigs to work with good success. Still, live eels at Shinnecock, Moriches and Fire Island inlets have grabbed the lion's share of 30-pounders.

While the call to arms for the striper run is hitting its peak, don't overlook the blackfishing possibilities. Considering the bumpy seas of late, the action with tasty 'tog seems to be in prime form. Veteran bottom bouncers departing from City Island, Port Washington, Huntington, Port Jefferson, Mount Sinai Harbor, Mattituck, Greenport and Orient generally have been able to gather four-fish limits of blacks measuring more than 14 inches from depths of 25 feet. Better still, many catches are topped off with a fish or two in the 5- to 6-pound class. That's good stuff.

Asian crabs have been the hot ticket for blackfish in the waters of western Long Island Sound, while green crabs hold an edge to the east. There also have been some decent scores using fiddler crabs at the South Shore reefs, wrecks and parkway bridges.

Launch ramp closed

The State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has closed the Oyster Ponds Boat Ramp in East Marion because a large slab of concrete at the ramp's base shifted position in recent weeks. The damage has created a potentially hazardous condition.

That's tough luck for the tin boat crews that favor this launch site for targeting nearby blackfish, blues and stripers because it leaves the DEC's Mattituck Creek Waterway Access Site, nearly 20 miles to the west, as the only viable North Fork launch site on Long Island Sound.

For now, barricades will be placed at the ramp entrance, which will remain closed until repairs are completed at some undetermined point in the future.

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