Yellowfin blitz fires Veatch Canyon as warm water pushes north

The eastern canyons came alive this week as a push of 72-degree water moved up from the south, stacking bait and firing the yellowfin bite at Veatch Canyon. I've been running out of Montauk and Block Island, and the fishing has been as good as I've seen it in early June.

Veatch has been the star performer. The 30-fathom line is holding consistent 71-degree water, a solid 6-degree break from the inshore stuff. That thermal edge is concentrating skipjack and small bluefin, which in turn has the yellowfin feeding aggressively at first light. We're finding fish from 40 to 80 pounds on the chunk, working fresh butterfish and squid on circle hooks. The key is getting there before sunrise — by 7 AM the bite shuts down as the fleet arrives and the fish sound.

Trolling the canyon edges has been producing wahoo in that same warm water. High-speed spreads with blue-and-white Ilanders and ballyhoo combinations are getting hit hard, especially along the 100-fathom contour where the current creates upwelling. The wahoo are running 25 to 40 pounds, typical for this time of year, but they're aggressive and numerous.

Hydrographer Canyon is fishing well for smaller yellowfin and some nice mahi. The weed lines have been sparse, but where you find them, they're holding dolphin to 15 pounds. Live bait has been king here — we're catching our own tinker mackerel on the ride out and fishing them on light tackle. The mahi are spooky in the clear water, so long leaders and careful boat positioning matter.

Atlantis Canyon has been tougher, but the few boats making the run are finding bigeye tuna in the deep water. Night fishing with squid on the bottom has produced fish to 150 pounds, though it's a grind. The current has been ripping through there, making it tough to hold bottom, but when you can get your baits down, the fish are there.

The water clarity has been exceptional — that gin-clear blue that makes you want to dive in. Visibility is pushing 100 feet in the canyons, which means the fish can see everything. We've had to go to longer leaders and smaller hooks to get bites. Fluorocarbon has been essential, especially for the wahoo that seem to inspect everything twice.

Bait has been the story this week. The skipjack schools are thick from the 20-fathom line out to the canyon walls. We're seeing massive marks on the sounder, and the yellowfin are feeding on them hard. Fresh butterfish from the Fulton Fish Market has been outproducing everything else for chunking, though good squid runs a close second.

The moon phase is working in our favor — we're three days past new, so the tides are building toward springs. That increased current flow is pushing nutrients up the canyon walls and concentrating bait. The best fishing has been on the incoming tide, especially that first hour after slack water when the current starts to build.

Weather has been cooperative with light southwest winds and 2-foot seas. The ride out to Veatch is 35 miles from Montauk, manageable in most boats, though I'd recommend 28 feet or bigger for comfort. From Block Island, it's a shorter run to the northern canyons, and several boats are making day trips successfully.

Looking ahead, the extended forecast shows this weather pattern holding through the weekend. The warm water should stay put, and with the moon building toward full, I expect the bite to intensify. The spring tides will flush more bait out of the inshore waters, and that usually means better canyon fishing. I'm planning to hit Veatch again at first light Friday, then work south to Hydrographer if the yellowfin bite slows. The key is staying mobile and following the temperature breaks — that's where the fish will be.