A quick check of the electronic mail bin during the past
few days finds the same question popping up time and again: "Where can I go snapper fishing?"
Apparently, word has gotten out that the small blues have Long Island surrounded and are putting on quite a show. No doubt, this has been one of the better snapper fishing seasons in recent memory, especially on the West End and along the North Shore. The diminutive bluefish have grown rapidly during August and now average 8 to 10 inches apiece. That's just the right size for light-tackle fun, introducing kids to fishing, or pan-frying some fillets.
So, where should you try? Virtually any bay or harborside dock, bulkhead, pier or even beach is worth a shot, but asking your local tackle dealer can help narrow the possibilities. Unlike striper and weakfish hot spots, snapper honey holes are generally revealed with smiles - and anglers visiting them are rarely sworn to secrecy. Stopping at a tackle shop also will prompt purchase of the best lures and baits; there are often subtle variations in what works best from one hot spot to the next.
"Snapper fishing right now is as good as it gets," said Ralph Giordano at Bernie's Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn. "The best rig is a snapper popper ahead of a small KastMaster or Sidewinder tin. Reel fast to make the snappers furious. You don't even need to tip the lure with bait."
Giordano suggested anglers try their luck along the sea wall between the Verrazano Bridge and Bay Parkway, or off Plum Beach adjacent to the Garrison Beach Bridge.
"Cast for snappers anywhere along the north side of South Oyster Bay," said Danny Viatore at Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh. "Try Levy Pier in Merrick, John Burns Park in Massapequa or Siemans Neck Park in Seaford."
Viatore noted that snapper poppers, Johnson Sprites, Sidewinders and KastMasters tipped with spearing all draw plenty of strikes.
"Kings Bluff is red hot for snappers now," said Alan Gordon at the Suffolk Sportsman in Smithtown. "The action is the best I've seen in years. Use snapper poppers tipped with spearing, or small tins. I favor the tins because their treble hooks make it hard for the fish to slip free."
Gordon called Kings Bluff the current hot spot. "Fish the west side of the Nissequogue River, off Old Dock Road," he said. "There's a beach and dock with easy access and plenty of room to cast."
At Willie K. Bait and Tackle in Bay Shore, Toshiko Koncelik noted that incoming water has had the best catches. Use a float and spearing, she advised, and select long-shanked snapper hooks to help prevent cutoffs and make unhooking your catch an easy task.
"A lot of kingfish are mixed with the snappers in Great South Bay," Koncelik added. "Maple Street Dock in East Islip has been super - and it's not very crowded there. Babylon Town Dock and the end of Windsor Avenue in Bayshore have also been great."
Other super snapper spots to try your luck include Huntington Town Dock, Wellwood Avenue Dock in Lindenhurst, Bergen Point, West Sayville Dock, Mascot Dock in Patchogue, Bellport Dock, Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai, the Captree piers, Riverhead's Route 105 Bridge and, of course, Shinnecock Canal when the locks are closed.
E-mail: outdoortom@optonline.net
Hot spots
Belt Parkway Sea Wall (snapper)
Sheepshead Bay (bluefish)
Point Lookout (porgy, sea bass, bluefish)
Huntington (bluefish, porgy, snapper)
Great South Bay (snapper, kingfish, blue crabs)
Port Jefferson (porgy, bluefish, snapper)
Shinnecock Canal (snapper, blue crabs)
Greenport/Gardiners Island (porgy, sea bass)
Mattituck (snapper, porgy, bluefish)
Montauk (snapper, striped bass, bluefish)
