THE SKINNYON LONG ISLAND FLATS FISHING


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RODUCTIVE FISHING flats are not unique only to tropical locales. Believe it or


not, similar conditions and structures prevail on Long


Island, as they do throughout the entire northeast. A number of enterprising local captains, guides and anglers have explored and developed that potential for quite some time, opening up an entirely new world of Long Island fly- fishing and light-tackle angling that has been commonplace to our south- eastern brethren.


The arrival of flats fishing to Long Island occurred not surprisingly dur- ing the early 1990s, concurrent with the resurgence of striper stocks throughout the mid-Atlantic and northeast regions of the country. All of Long Island is fair game for this form of angling, from the western reaches of the south shore, to the extreme east ends of the Island, and many north shore areas of the Long Island Sound. There are too many fine captains who have perfected this style of fishing in the Northeast to list here, but one of the first captains to explore and devel- op this form of angling was Paul Dixon. From May until late August, Capt.


MORE THAN JUST SHALLOW


Much of the Island still has areas that are waiting to be


explored,and someof the most productive Long Island flats are less than the length of a good field goal.


Dixon can often be found guiding fly and light-tackle anglers to some superb sight-fishing on the clear flats around Easthampton and Gardiner’s Island. Capt. Amanda Switzer has forged a similar angling path. Another pioneer of this fishing is Capt. Jeff Northrop who plies the flats off the Norwalk Islands in the Long Island Sound. Regardless of the techniques used, the Long Island skinny water scene is no different than one might encounter on a flat in the Florida Keys or along a stretch of coastal Louisiana.


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The Long Island flats fishing experi- ence is not only an East End and South Shore scenario. There are North Shore locations that offer the same challenges and fishing opportunities. Many of the harbors and backwaters off the Long Island Sound hold various forms of suitable flats structure, with one of the largest being within the boundaries of the central Sound. Many other smaller locations are scattered about the entire North Shore. It is a “seek and you shall find” situation.


In addition to the extreme east ends of the Island with areas like Fisher’s, Gardiner’s and Plum Islands, the South Shore also has significant poten- tial for this form of fly-fishing and light-tackle angling. One can find suit- able areas from Jamaica Bay to the west, to the bays and backwaters of the central south shore, especially in the area of the Great South Bay and the backwaters off Moriches Inlet. The Peconic Bay is another area where skin- ny water flats opportunities abound. The fact of the matter is that much


of the Island still has areas that are waiting to be explored, and some of the most productive Long Island flats are


TIDE


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