Huntington Harbor NY Area Fishing Information
This old salty historic bay village is where the British set up head quarters during the Revolutionary war. After we had them go back home, the realization of the exceptional fishing opportunities just kept revealing themselves. Cold Spring Harbor directly to the West and Northport to the East, is on par with the incredible fishing but is a bit more private and boating is the way to go there. Huntington and Northport offer great dock fishing for the kids to bring home some flounder. This area is not chocked full of party boats and charters but some Captains will do both and are regarded as the top experts for this area that target monster Fluke, Flounder, Blackfish, Stripers and of course Blues. They are regarded as some of the best captains on the north shore.

Fishing Calendar Depending on the time of year most Party Boats will fish for the following species: April - May: Winter Flounder, Fluke, Weakfish, Black Fish and Striped Bass June - September: Fluke, Bluefish, Striped Bass, Black Fish, Porgies, Sea Bass October-December: Fluke, Blue Fish, Striped Bass, False Albacore and Black Fish Many Charter Boats will fish for the same species as the Party Boats and will also fish offshore for Sharks from June - September and Tuna during August through early October.

Some Fishing Tips Surf Fishing is good along all the local beaches especially around jetties. Bluefish are fished all over the sound and will chase bunker up any river. Diving birds are a sure sign there are Bluefish in the area. When on the surface throwing surface poppers can’t be beat for excitement! The most popular way to fish for Blues is to anchor your boat chum with ground bunker to attract the fish while dropping back cut bunker. Make sure to use a heavy mono or wire leader since these fish a sharp teeth that will make short order of 10 - 15 lb mono. Night time is great for Bluefish as well. Blackfish is best done by a charter or party boat since you need knowledge and experience to locate and fish wrecks and rock piles. If you’re not in the rocks or on a wreck you’re not going to catch. Fluke fishing is excellent around the Spring Lake Hotel to the south and Elberon and Deal to the north. Drifting a combination of a strip of squid and a kellie is the most popular way to fish. Flounder fishing is best in the April and May time frame. Chumming is a necessity to improve your chances of catching a good number of fish. Anchoring is the usual fare dropping down either blood or sandworms. The bay and the river are popular spots but the bay is very shallow and is limiting during low tide. Striped Bass can be caught by using live bait - primarily bunker or river herring and eels are deadly at night and low light conditions. The world record Striper fell for a big free drifting eel with a 3/0 hook at night. Porgies and Sea Bass are bottom feeders usually willing to eat any kind of squid and clam bits offered. A 1/0 hook and a 1 to 2 ounce bank sinker rigged with a three way swivel could put some tasty fillets on the table for many. Porgies are right up there with Black fish as one of the tastiest fish in the sea! Bonita and False Albacore are in the tuna family and are incredible fighters! Bonita are great table fare but False Albacore are NOT! Incredible on the fly rod!!!! Please be responsible and only keep what you intend to eat and practice catch and release! Party Boating - Make sure to arrive early and get a good spot on the boat. You want to stay near the bow or the stern this way you can fish comfortably regardless of the direction the boat is drifting. Charter Boats - Book trips early and make sure you have a species in mind and have a back up spices in case the fish don't cooperate. Make sure and discuss it with the captain so they are prepared and are in agreement. In the case of fishing for Tuna, make sure you are aware of the captains rules as far as keeping fish. Some boats, especially when giant Tuna fishing, will keep most of what their charters catch.