With temperatures staying stubbornly cold, fishing reports were hard to come by. The boats going offshore from Shinnecock and Moriches were quiet again this week. Inshore, we have winter flounder season open.
I checked in at White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays. No one had tried out the Shinnecock Canal as of yet, the consensus being that temps were still a little cold. If you do want to be the first to catch a flattie at the canal, you want to plan your trip for when the locks are closed. Call 631-852-8299 for information on lock closing times. I have also heard anecdotally that the locks will close approximately 3.5 hours after high tide at Sandy Hook, N.J.
Wego Bait and Tackle in Southold told the same story about cold water temps in the bay. Zack and Greg from Wego had been scouting around some of their favorite North Fork freshwater haunts and had not had any luck yet.
I feel like freshwater is a good bet right now, particularly trout. The NYS DEC will be stocking Laurel Lake and the Carmans River, locally. Laurel Lake will be getting 300 rainbow trout in 8.5 to 9.5 inch range and an additional 260 brown trout in the same size range, all in the month of April.
The Carmans River has a much more extensive stocking program starting in March and continuing through May. A total of 2,810 fish will be stocked (rainbow and brown trout) from 8 to 15 inches in length. I recommend using a very small spoon with a light leader. It’s easy and convenient to keep a light spinning rod in your car, pre-rigged for a few casts anytime you drive by your favorite spot.
If you’re a bait fisherman, Berkley Power Bait Floating Trout bait, presented with an egg sinker and 2-lb. test leader, rigged in a “fish finder” configuration, is deadly. I also like corn on a slip float with 2-lb. test leader.
For the fly fisherman, any small streamer, sub-surface type presentation will get these hungry hatchery fish to bite. That’s an important thing to remember; these are hatchery, hand fed fish, newly released to the wild. They are hungry and aggressive.
Trout season is open all year at Laurel Lake, fish must be 12 inches long to keep and the bag limit is three fish per day, per angler. On the Carmans River, the regs are a little more complicated. It’s best to go to the NYS DEC’s website and search Carmans River trout regulations.
On a personal note I took my daughter fishing in Grangebel Park for a few minutes on April 5 at high tide. We were rewarded with a white perch and my daughter’s rock-star-holding-a-fish pose! The fish was caught using a clam bait and was released to fight again.
If you have a “trophy” fish pic to share or a report to add you can contact me at eelocalreports@gmail.com.
Tight lines, everyone!
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