It's porgy time on Long Island Sound
Porgy season for private, rental boat and shore anglers opened across Long Island three weeks ago and the action has been hot. Limit scores have been the rule around Robins Island in Peconic Bay, at Montauk, and outside Huntington Bay and Hempstead Harbor. Catches may get even better if the pile of porgies that Captain Desmond O'Sullivan recently discovered east of Port Jefferson is an indication of things to come.
On Tuesday, the opening day of party boat porgy season, O'Sullivan was ferrying fares to the fluke grounds around Buoy 9 when his fish-finder registered dense schools beneath the boat. "It was amazing,'' he said. "There were porgies everywhere!''
O'Sullivan used his global positioning system (GPS) to map the school and found it measured a mile long by 50 yards wide and 10 to 20 feet deep.
He then instructed his fares to drop their lines over the side. It took only minutes to limit-out the boat.
"These fish were stacked,'' O'Sullivan continued, "and they were 'slabs.' The action was so furious some anglers caught fish on bare hooks!''
"It's impressive and unusual to have a school of porgies this large in Long Island Sound,'' said Sandra Dumais, a marine biologist with the Region 1 DEC office in Setauket, "but this isn't unprecedented. Porgies are schooling fish, and their stocks have been rebuilding strongly. This suggests they are doing well. It's nice to see.''
Are all these porgies spawning right now? Not necessarily. Porgies spawn from late May through August, but they don't all spawn at once - so taking home some for dinner shouldn't negatively impact future stocks.
From June 8 to Sept. 6, anglers aboard party and charter boats can take 10 scup per day with a minimum size of 11 inches. From Sept. 7 to Oct. 11, the pay-to-play creel limit expands to 40 fish but the size limit remains at 11 inches. All other anglers must adhere to a season of May 24 to Sept. 26, with a 10-fish bag limit and minimum size of 10 1/2 inches. You can check marine sportfishing regulations yourself at www. dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7894.html.
"I hope these fish stick around a while,'' O'Sullivan said. "Fluking has been very good, but it's still nice to quickly put some fish in the cooler at the start of each trip.''
Speaking of fluke, a fresh bite has developed around Gardiners Island. According to Bill Russo, captain of the charter boat Orient Star II, squid moved into the area and keeper fluke quickly followed.
"The action isn't fast,'' Russo said, "but the size of these fluke is outstanding. We've seen fish to 11 pounds in recent days, with several in the 8- to 10-pound class."
Fluking also remains good at Montauk, and outside Fire Island and Jones Inlets. There aren't many keepers at the latter two spots, but action is building. Further offshore, the sea bass bite remains strong out of Freeport, Point Lookout, Captree, Moriches and Shinnecock.
Upcoming eventsThe Combs Bait and Tackle Duke of Fluke Tourney (631-264-3525) and the Peconic Bay Fishing Tournament (peconicbayfishing.org) are scheduled for Saturday. The 24th Annual Star Island Yacht Club Shark Tourney (631-668-5052) will be held June 17-19. Molnar's Landing Fluke Shootout (631-728-1860), and the Freeport Hudson Anglers Shark Tournament, are set for June 19.
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