captmike28
Well-Known Angler
After a blow out last week I finally ran my first charter for ’26 on Wednesday. Under summer like conditions, we started off drifting some of my usually reliable spots for Weakfish in the Peconics. Unfortunately, all 3 areas seemed to be devoid of any Weaks just a few stray Porgies.
So, we decided to go with the consistent crowd pleaser and wound up anchoring near Jessup’s for the flood tide and began to enjoy a good 2-hour consistent bite of Scup. Plenty of 16-17” fish in the mix to keep the crew of Tony and his 3 friends smiling. Although the Scup bite this spring has been a bit more challenging than usual, they still managed to box about 50 nice fish for the table.
Today I had my good friend Mitch join me for my annual attempt to keep a decades long tradition alive in my home. We always have a large family BBQ on Memorial Day weekend, and my promise is to have a fresh Stiped Bass for the grill. Amazingly I have been able to keep the streak alive for well over 2 decades, despite some slow bites and really nasty weather conditions over the years. Today was overcast with some light rain from time to time but that did not deter us from focusing on the goal.
Virtually all our local species have been slow starting on the North Fork this year. So, I was not overly confident as we left the dock this morning headed for Plum Gut. Things were pretty quiet for the end of the ebb with just one over slot fish landed but when the flood tide took over the bite became a lot more consistent. During the first 2 hours of the tide, we decked 5 more Bass and dropped a couple more. Lots of big fish today with 5 being oversized between 33-38” some pushing closed to 20#. But we were able to cull 2 slot sized fish for the box and my streak continues for yet another year. I promise you there will be lots of smiling faces when those thick filets hit the dinner table this weekend.
Following what looks like a fairly wet weekend there is a stretch of warm weather on tap, and I am sure that will light up the bay and Sound with plenty of great action as we approach June. I do have a few weekend and weekdays open so give me a call if you would like to get out.
Wishing everyone a safe and successful 2026 fishing season.
Capt. Mike
So, we decided to go with the consistent crowd pleaser and wound up anchoring near Jessup’s for the flood tide and began to enjoy a good 2-hour consistent bite of Scup. Plenty of 16-17” fish in the mix to keep the crew of Tony and his 3 friends smiling. Although the Scup bite this spring has been a bit more challenging than usual, they still managed to box about 50 nice fish for the table.
Today I had my good friend Mitch join me for my annual attempt to keep a decades long tradition alive in my home. We always have a large family BBQ on Memorial Day weekend, and my promise is to have a fresh Stiped Bass for the grill. Amazingly I have been able to keep the streak alive for well over 2 decades, despite some slow bites and really nasty weather conditions over the years. Today was overcast with some light rain from time to time but that did not deter us from focusing on the goal.
Virtually all our local species have been slow starting on the North Fork this year. So, I was not overly confident as we left the dock this morning headed for Plum Gut. Things were pretty quiet for the end of the ebb with just one over slot fish landed but when the flood tide took over the bite became a lot more consistent. During the first 2 hours of the tide, we decked 5 more Bass and dropped a couple more. Lots of big fish today with 5 being oversized between 33-38” some pushing closed to 20#. But we were able to cull 2 slot sized fish for the box and my streak continues for yet another year. I promise you there will be lots of smiling faces when those thick filets hit the dinner table this weekend.
Following what looks like a fairly wet weekend there is a stretch of warm weather on tap, and I am sure that will light up the bay and Sound with plenty of great action as we approach June. I do have a few weekend and weekdays open so give me a call if you would like to get out.
Wishing everyone a safe and successful 2026 fishing season.
Capt. Mike
