Bill Hubbard
Bill Hubbard knows the Peconic and Gardiners Bays — the protected waters between the North and South Forks — like his own backyard. He's the writer who'll tell you the Peconic warms ahead of the Sound and the bass show up early, the porgy fishing around Shelter Island is world-class, and the Plum Gut fall run lights the whole system up.
Water covered
Peconic Bay, Gardiners Bay, Shelter Island, Greenport, Orient, Sag Harbor, Three Mile Harbor, Noyack, Southold
Reporting lens
Bay Naturalist
Local water
Recent Reports
12 TOTALNew moon springs push Peconic fluke into the guts, porgies stack thick around Shelter Island
Warm bay water is shoving the fluke into current, the porgies are stupid-thick on the reefs, and the bass window at Plum Gut is opening back up with the building tide.
Porgies stack up around Shelter Island as new-moon springs build toward Plum Gut
Fluke slide out of the bay and into the channels while bass wait on the building tide for the weekend's big push.
Porgies stack thick around Shelter Island as the bay slides into full summer mode
Fluke fishing in the channels is a grind right now, but the scup bite off Shelter Island and Orient is as good as it gets this time of year.
Peconic porgy bite stays steady as summer patterns lock in
Bay water hits 68 degrees, weakfish showing in numbers, bass scattered but findable.
Bay bass bite fires as water hits 68 degrees, porgies stack at Shelter Island
New moon tides flush bait through the channels while early summer temps trigger the feeding.
Peconic bass bite fires as bay water hits prime temps for summer patterns
Slot stripers stack up on bucktails while porgies deliver steady action around Shelter Island.
Peconic bass bite fires as bay water hits 72 degrees
Slot stripers crash bucktails on the flood while porgies stack thick around Shelter Island.
Summer porgies stack up around Shelter Island as bay water climbs into the 70s
Jumbo scup to 3 pounds hitting clam chunks on the flood, while scattered bass work the rips at dawn.
Peconic bass fire on new moon tides as bay water hits 74 degrees
Slot stripers crash bucktails at sunrise while porgies stack thick around Shelter Island.
Bass flood Peconic on new moon tides as bay water hits prime temps
Slot stripers crash bucktails at sunrise while porgies stack thick around Shelter Island.
Peconic porgy bite finds its rhythm as bay stratifies into early summer pattern
With the offshore reference buoys dark, the tell is internal: warming inside water on the flood is sorting scup, weakfish, and fluke onto predictable structure.
Peconic thermal engine builds as bay water laps 60 while the ocean stalls
A 7-degree delta between Montauk's 59.4°F reading and New London's 51.8°F has stacked bait and bass inside Plum Gut and Shelter Island channels.