Striped Bass 
Stripers man, big ones, small ones, that’s 90% of what we do inshore. The skiffs go back in the water that first week in April and we target stripers on fly and light spin-gear all they way through December, with the peak month being May/June then October/November. (Note: in the last few years there have been plenty of stripers in the back bay in July and even August, although generally they are school size).
Every year is a little different, but generally we’re fishing Jamaica Bay (just south of JFK airport) from the skiffs in April to Mid June. Absolutely, we hit those ocean-run fish with the Contenders should they show, but the backwater fly-fishing and light-spin stuff is our specialty.
Our focus is almost exclusively on top-water fishing, because really, there’s nothing more awesome than seeing an aggressive striper crush a popper or slider on top. Like to throw poppers up against structure? That’s our game, 100%.
We generally don’t bait-fish and under no circumstance do we troll. Because, well, it’s lame.
October and November generally constitute the fall striper run. That’s more chasing busting fish under birds. Some years that happens in the Bay, and some years in the ocean from Fire Island to Manasquan. Either way we’re prepared to put you exactly where the fish are.
Bluefish
Bluefish… We love, love, love’em. We have a pretty sick run of big blues each spring up in the mud flats. These fish come up in two and three-foot of water, and tail like bonefish, often swimming in large groups and daisy chain like tarpon. And when you stick’em? Nowhere to go but up. These fish jump, tail-walk and do all sorts of acrobatics. Arguably the perfect shallow-water target.
Of course, later in the year, we find these fish blitzing on the surface in deeper water, where we throw poppers and other top-water stuff at’em. Loads of fun!
Peak times for blues is May and then October/November. But they can often be found year around in the ocean and the estuaries.
False Albacore
Albies are freak’n cool. The run-and-gun, the adrenaline – they start crashing bait here, you get up on’em, you get a cast in, but it’s too late. A quarter mile down the beach they start going again. Punch the throttle, and hold on! This time you’re on’em. You get a cast in, the water explodes and line rips across the water as the drag sings. Pure awesomeness.
They don’t get as big as striper or bluefish, but they make up for it in speed and strength. They are often described as the perfect Northeast saltwater fly-fishing/light-tackle species. Every single one of them gets you into backing and/or simply dumps line off a reel in a way that’s hard to understand unless you’ve seen it yourself.
And man are they beautiful. Green backs slashing though the water as bay-anchovies flee in despair. So many different bright neon-like colors in this fish. Man do we love’em!
September and October are prime-time for these speedsters, but they have been known to show up in August and stay into November. When they are around, you can be sure that we’re on’em!
Weakfish
Weakfish were once a staple in Jamaica Bay. Unfortunately, their numbers have dropped precipitously. That said, while we no longer have a season that targets them, we do encounter them occasionally. Aggregations occasionally show up in the spring, as well as the fall. And when they are around, we do indeed target them. (Note: this a catch and release only fishery, not because it’s the law, but because it’s our law).