Bass push through Plum Gut as Sound water warms into the seventies

Water's finally acting like June ought to. Sound side hit 71 degrees this week, warmest I've seen it since early May, and the bass are responding like they remember what season it is. Been fishing these waters sixty years, and when that temperature needle climbs past 70, things start to happen.

Schoolie bass are thick as fleas from Mattituck east to Rocky Point, working the shallows on the incoming tide. Nothing huge — most running 20 to 28 inches — but they're feeding hard on sand eels and juvenile bunker. White 4-inch Zoom flukes on 1/2-ounce jigheads are deadly, especially if you work them slow along the drop-off where the beach shelves into deeper water. Dawn and dusk are prime time, but I've been picking them up all day when the wind lays down.

The real action's been at Orient Point, where bigger fish are pushing through on their way to wherever bass go when they leave us. Had a morning this week — Tuesday, I think — when the rips off the point were boiling with 30 to 40-inch fish. They wanted live bunker, nothing fancy, just a circle hook through the nose and let the current do the work. Outgoing tide at sunrise, that's the ticket. Water's moving fast enough to keep bait nervous but not so hard you can't control your drift.

Plum Gut's been producing too, though you need to time it right. The Race runs fierce on the big tides — we're coming off a new moon, so the water's really moving — and the bass stack up in the eddies where the current breaks. Seen some nice fish taken on diamond jigs, 3 to 4 ounces depending on how hard it's running. Let them flutter down in the slack water behind the rocks, then work them back up with a slow retrieve.

Porgy fishing's been steady around the oyster cages between Horton Point and Rocky Point. Nothing spectacular, but enough keeper-sized fish to make it worthwhile if you're after dinner. Small pieces of clam on size 4 hooks, fish them on the bottom with just enough weight to hold. The cages create structure, and structure holds fish — simple as that.

Weakfish showed up for about three days last week, then vanished like they do. Caught a few on small bucktails with white trailers, but they were here and gone before you could really get on them. That's weakfish for you — ghosts that appear when the water's just right, then disappear when you start counting on them.

Bluefish have been scarce, which isn't unusual for this time of year. Few small ones mixed in with the bass schools, but nothing worth targeting specifically. They'll be back when the water gets warmer and the bait gets thicker.

Water clarity's been good despite all the boat traffic. Sound side doesn't get the murky runoff that plagues the bay side, and with the warmer temperatures, everything's settling into summer patterns. Bait's moving, fish are feeding, and the water's got that clear green color that means business.

Looking ahead, we're moving into the full moon phase next week, which should push more bait through Plum Gut and keep the bass moving. Water temperature's trending up — should hit the mid-70s if this weather holds — and that's when the Sound really comes alive. I'll be watching the dawn bite at Orient Point and the evening push along the Rocky Point drop-off. When the water's this good and the fish are this active, you fish every tide you can manage.