Traffic heading over the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey to New York, was horrendous. By the time we hooked up with Joey and Jim they had already been fishing a couple hours. As Mark and I paddled up, Jim just released his largest bass of the day, and was heading in. He had to work that night. The hot lures were shallow running swimmers. Joey was a couple hundred yards away and said that the fish had moved into shallow water near a small island so we paddled over. I put on a Megabait JB-110 and fired off a cast. The lure hadn't moved more then 5 feet when the water exploded and a nice striped bass took line from my reel. Several minutes later I was releasing a 32" striper. Next cast a nice bluefish, followed by another striper and a blue. Four casts, four fish, not a bad start. By the time the action died I had landed over 40 fish in the 25 to 36" range. Excellent fishing. Where were we fishing? It was Jamaica Bay, Brooklyn, New York City - the Big Apple.
When one thinks about New York City, kayak fishing doesn't readily come to mind. It's hard to believe that the waters surrounding our nations largest city has much to offer the fishermen, let alone those fishing from kayaks, but it does. Within a 25 mile radius of Manhattan is smorgasbord of places to fish that includes rivers, creeks, bays, a sound, and the Atlantic Ocean. The best part is most of these spots are protected, inshore waters. That's what really separates the fishing here from places like California where most fishing requires launching through the surf which intimidates a lot of folks. The best part is the fish we catch inside are the same fish we catch in the ocean. So what are we pursuing? Our primary quarries are striped bass, bluefish, weakfish and fluke. A few pelagic species like false albacore; bonito and sierra mackerel also visit us with the false albacore being the most important.
The striped bass is the most important of the fish we catch. It's our largest sport fish and is available the longest. The first fish are generally caught sometime in later March/early April and well into December. Stripers occupy the greatest variety of environments as they thrive in fresh and salt water alike. Bass can be found anywhere often feeding in water that doesn't even cover their backs. The world record comes from just south of the Big Apple, in southern New Jersey, and was over 78 pounds. Specimens in excess of 50 are not unusual and kayak fishermen catch lots of 20 pound plus fish. They're excellent table fare, which adds to their popularity. The second most important are bluefish. I call them hacksaws with fins because they have powerful jaws with lots of small, sharp teeth. Bluefish are aggressive, savage predators ranging in size from a few inches to 30 pounds. Our blues run up to 20. Weakfish are a member of the croaker family. They invade the shallows in May while on their spawning run. These fish are referred to as tiderunners and average 5 to 12 pounds. By mid June the tiderunners head for deeper waters and smaller fish take over - these smaller weakfish average 2 to 4 pounds. Weaks are excellent eating. Fluke are our flatfish species and invade the shallows in the summer. They're fun to catch and great on the table too. False Albacore, which are not albacore at all, but are little tunny, are the pelagic that's the most important to Big Apple kayak fishermen. They are an oceanic fish but venture into the Sound, and occasionally Jamaica and Raritan Bays. Inlets are always a good place to find them. We fish for them in the Ocean and I regularly find them off the beaches of Sandy Hook south to Shark River Inlet. They show up sometime in September and leave in late October. Sizes range from a few pounds to 10 or more. They have zero food value and as one captain once said to me, even cats won't eat them.
In the Spring the flats are the first place to see action. Places like Littleneck and Raritan Bays always see the earliest action as their shallow, dark colored bottoms warm first. That's correct, I did say flats. They are one example of what the Big Apple has to offer. When one thinks of flats fishing stalking bonefish, permit and tarpon in places like the Florida Keys and the Caribbean or redfish in the Gulf coast waters comes to mind - not stripers and blues around New York City. This isn't exactly the place that would make you think of a Corona commercial. The reality is we've got some great flats. There are many different types of flats. What they all have in common is shallow water. Moving water like creeks, rivers, or tidal flows that concentrate material that piles up is what most often forms them. These materials contain nutrients and are the start of the food chain. This attracts baitfish and where there's bait you find predators. The determining factor is water temperature. When the temps are within the right zone the fish will be there. As Spring transitions into Summer, the flats get to warm for the larger bass and blues during the day. Low light periods and night becomes the better times to hit them. Come summer fluke move in to the shallows. These flatfish are aggressive predators and become a prevalent quarry for the rest of the summer. Sizes run from a pound or two with really large fish approaching double digits.
Earlier I mentioned Jamaica Bay. It has my favorite flats and for approximately a month each Spring its superb fishing. JFK International airport occupies its eastern border and to the west are Brooklyn and the skyline of Manhattan. It doesn't get much more urban than this but the surrounding sprawl and activity belies the treasure that the bay is. The first time I fished here I had just released a nice striper when I heard a loud roar. As I looked towards the airport the Concorde was taking off for Europe. The Concorde is no more, but the constant stream of jets arriving and departing for all corners of the globe hasn't changed. I often wonder if any of the people above me are fishermen heading off to some exotic locale looking for something very similar to what they just flew over. What I especially like about the bay is that there are a lot of islands surrounded by shallows. Sometimes we fish from the kayaks, but they're also used as transportation to get us to places where we hop off and wade. Sit-on-top (SOT) kayaks are much preferred for this as it's easy to get on and off them. In May the water's still cold so we wear waders. Nothing works as well for wading as waders. Waders used in combination with a whitewater kayak top and a PFD, make a terrific system that keeps us dry and safe. We use this system until the water warms up enough to permit wet wading (shorts, boots and t-shirt).
Another great area is Long Island Sound and its harbors. The Sound separates Long Island from the New England mainland. This is a huge area. As Spring gives way to Summer the western Sound becomes my preferred fishing spot. This area stretches from City Island to the Connecticut border. Here the kayak opens up fishing where there's very limited shore access. Even with a kayak there are only a handful of places to launch and a cart is often required to get to some of them. It can be a challenge to get to the water but once on the water there's some great fishing. My favorite is an area loaded with structure: mainly rocks and lots of them. It encompasses several major islands, many more small islands and what I call islets. These are reefs and very small islands that are the size of cars to houses. What all this rock spells is fish, especially bass. Wind and tides interacting with all this rock creates lots of opportunities. The fishing is the best in the region when the dog days of summer arrive. You will catch fish when the suns up, but nighttime is when it's at its best. Most boats won't venture into this area in daylight, as it's so hazardous. One can fish from the kayak but we often hop off and fish from the rocks too. To do so you need to bring a traction aide, as the rocks are treacherous to walk on. We like Korkers and I keep a set inside the kayak. It's nice to get out of the kayak, as we'll often spend an entire night out there. Being on the rocks is especially nice if you're fly-fishing. It simplifies everything and there are many great spots you can access. The rocks are great for conventional fishermen too. Depths vary from a few feet to 50 and change abruptly. All methods can be used from the kayak - including trolling. If you troll with spin or conventional gear there's one method that's deadly. It's called the Tube in Worm (TnW). Our buddy Joev introduced us to the technique in this exact area a couple summers back. It consists of a surgical tube rigged with a hook, barrel and rudder. The entire contraption is tipped with a live sandworm. It runs shallow and that's good with all the rocks to hang up on. That August day when Joev first showed us the TnW he caught 37 stripers. There were about a dozen of us fishing and we all caught fish however nobody had near the quantity or size Joev had. I personally watched him loose a couple bruisers that were around 30 pounds!
As Autumn approaches one of our prey species, menhaden (known locally as bunker), gather in the bays and harbors. This happens consistently in Long Island Sound. We see them in 2 sizes, small juveniles that range from 2-5" and adults that are 1-2 plus pounds. They are surface, filter feeders, and easily located. When predators are on bunker there's some great fishing to be had. I particularly enjoy when large bluefish are eating adult bunker. This is raw nature and reminds me of how savage the natural world can be. Bluefish use their primary weapon, their teeth, to maim as many baitfishes as they can. Blues when they feed like this reminds me of sharks or piranhas. Sizes tend to run 10 to 20 pounds when feeding on the big bunker. It's wild fishing. Feeding bluefish create a feast for other fish. Oftentimes bass, weakfish and fluke will sit below the voracious blues and pick up parts that drift down.
Some places where we find fish are very unexpected and truly amazing. A few years back I had a hunch on a spot that I felt had to have fish. I had heard some rumors. So one day in November, Mark and me checked it out. I picked up a couple fish trolling. Then the tide really started flushing out of the grass and the place came alive with feeding bass. They were everywhere feeding on shrimp. We were in the shadow of Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands while 80,00 people were rooting for the Jets. Its as unlikely a spot as one can think of as the Hackensack River we were fishing was just above Newark Bay.
The first time I fished from a kayak in saltwater was in Raritan Bay. The bay sits just south of New York City. I was fishing from a jetty on that August day when a school of blues erupted a few hundred yards off the beach. I had my new kayak on the roof of my vehicle waiting for just such a situation. I got set up and headed out towards the melee. Fewer then a dozen strokes of the paddle found me in the middle of the blitzing fish. For the next 2 hours I caught a fish on every cast. I decided to rig up a fly rod I had brought along and continued to catch fish until dusk. When I came to shore several anglers asked about the kayak and how I did. I then learned that the most fish any of the shore bound anglers had caught was 3 fish. I had done a bit better as I had caught somewhere between 50 and a 100 fish.
In late September well into October my primary quarry becomes false albacore. I generally look for them on the beaches of New Jersey from Shark River Inlet north to Sandy Hook. Albies are tunas and are a blast. They smoke line off the reel unlike any other fish that we regularly pursue. Albies kick off my ocean fishing, as they don't enter the bays consistently enough to chase them around here. They're often found along with bass and blues but within 5 seconds you'll know that you didn't hook something else. After the albies depart the fall run gets into full swing and even though there are still fish to be caught in the sheltered waters this is when the ocean is your best bet. You have to pick your days and a light to moderate west or northwest wind is best. That's because it knocks down the swell. One particular day my fly fishing club was doing an assault on Sandy Hook. We all had radios and were assigned a different spot. Whichever club member found the fish it was up to them to call it in so all the members could take advantage of the action. I had my kayak with me and heard that there were fish a few beaches south. I called in that I was going to investigate. As often happens with surf fishing the fish were blitzing the beach at first light. It required long casts with poppers or wooden surface swimmers to hook up. I hadn't brought an 11-foot surf rod with me but I did have a kayak. So I launched and found the fish about 200 yards off the beach. The fish were on small bunker, which we call peanuts, so I put on a 5" Wildeye. My first fish was a 36-inch bass and my second was a blue around the same size. Due to the wind I found the best technique to be trolling. I kept a drift sock across my lap and as soon I hooked a fish I'd throw it over and position it to the rear of the kayak using an external pulley. By doing this I would only blow a couple hundred yards rather then a mile before landing the fish. There were a lot of boats fishing too. They ranged all the way up to partyboats that were close to 100 feet. Sometimes I'd be amongst all the boats and at times I was between them and the farthest casts of the shore bound anglers. The best part - I was catching more fish then anyone. It was a mixed bag of bass and blues all over 30 inches.
The tackle we use varies but a basic outfit that will serve one well is a 7-9' rod rated ½ to1-½ oz., either spinning or conventional, spooled with 30# braid. My personal favorite is 9 feet, as the extra casting distance can be important when schools of blitzing fish are moving around quickly. It can make a difference between hooking up rather then getting frustrated. If you're using a TnW you need to beef up your tackle. Something appropriate to use in conjunction with 65-80 pound braid. Our shallow waters are terrific for fly-fishing and it is an important technique here. Fly outfits most commonly used are 8-11 weights and the lines one should have along are an intermediate, fast sink and floater. If I were to choose only one fly rod it would be a 10 wt. We often throw very large flies, heavy lines and in deeper waters you're going to need lifting power too. Pulling a large striper or blue up out of deep water or away from structure takes some muscle. Also if you're pursuing albies the heavier rod is almost a necessity especially when the double digit sized fish show up. Albies are tough fighters with zero food value so all fish are released. Heavier gear will still give you a fantastic fight but also ensure that more fish survive.
Artificials are a very effective means of catching all our species. There are certain lures that I always carry. I like plastics - Wildeyes, Tsunamis, Lunker City heads with various tails, Sluggos rigged texas are all mainstays. Hard lures like minnow baits (Megabait, Tsunami, Yozuri, etc.), poppers and top water walkers. Then there's the TnW. Some guys I know don't fish anything else. Metals are also very popular especially when chasing pelagics. Flies vary from 1-10 inches as we have important prey throughout this range. The very nature of fly-fishing allows one to better match baits and our shallow waters are perfect fly fishing territory. These areas are nurseries for bait and some can be very small. Flies simply imitate small prey better and the fly rod is a better tool for delivering a small offering.
To sum up, there is more than just a lot of population in the Northeast. There's some terrific kayak fishing to be had. If you find yourself here don't hesitate to give it a shot. It's well worth it.