Long Island and NYC Fishing Report- July 24, 2025

Long Island and NYC Fishing Report

North Shore

Captain Stu Paterson of Northport Charters reports: “We had a great week of charters and fishing camp! We are catching porgies to 2-1/2 pounds with the occasional keeper sea bass coming over the rail. Lots of spearing, squid, and bunker are now present in our fishery and the cocktail blues are blitzing on bait in the bays and LI Sound. We had some decent fluke at fishing camp, with Austin hooking a 6-pound doormat so far this week; the keeper ratio is visibly increasing. Weakfish and spot are still in the mix. Call or text 631-707-3266 or go to www.northportcharters.com.” 

Mark at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports: “I’ve been seeing tiny bunker pods with fish on them here and there. Bass are still in the Triangle and the fish are chewing on slack tide. There are sea bass in the shipping lane in 80 feet of water, and you’ll need 8 ounces of lead to hit the bottom. Porgies are everywhere, but all the sizable ones are a bit deeper in the Sound. There are tons of fluke around—not a lot of keepers, but the action is hot. Call us at 631-239-1631 or visit our www.cowharbortackle.com; we have plenty of rigged eels, live eels, and eel skin plugs for summer bass fishing.” 

The Angler Fleet (@anglerfleet) out of Port Washington reports: “The fluke bite has seen an uptick in the keeper-to-short ratio, with steady action continuing across the board. Anglers are regularly bringing both shorts and quality keepers over the rails. Porgy have also continued to push into the local grounds, adding to the mixed-bag variety. Meanwhile, Kids Camp is in full swing—every camper is bending a rod, heading home with fish, and most importantly, having fun! To get in on the action call or text (718)-659-8181 or go to www.theangler.com.” 

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Long Island and NYC!  

Captain Arthur Cortes of Cortes Outfitters in NYC reports: “Flats fishing continues to produce results as bass start to focus on crabs and peanut bunker along the shoreline. Bluefish are at the inlet, feeding on everything they find. Lure of the week is the Savage Gear Surf Walker, while the most productive fly is the Merkin Crab. To get in on the action, call or text 347-326-4750 or go to www.cortesoutfitters.com.” 

Captain Skippy Charters out of Mount Sinai reports: “This week out of Mount Sinai Harbor, the resident summer LI Sound striped bass have continued to settle in, however, there are still a surprising number of fish on local ledges, such as Bouy 11. Bluefish have been non-existent allowing anglers to continue using soft plastics for the time being. We have been working with GrayFish Tag, tagging over-slot striped bass for their research and giving customers the unique opportunity to catch, tag, name, and release large striped bass. This week, I want to give a shout out to CJ who tagged and released an over-slot bass named “Can of Corn”. Let’s see where she gets recaptured!  There are a ton of fluke on the shoals mixed in with sea robins, but keepers are hard to come by. Local wrecks and rock piles have plenty of sea bass with some big porgies mixed in, making for great mixed-bag fishing!” 

Steve at Wego Fishing Bait and Tackle in Southold reports: “There are still a few bass in the Gut on the right tides, and sea bass fishing has picked up. Keeper sea bass are in Pigeon Rip, Plum Gut, and off Montauk. There are some fluke in the mix as well, and the bite has been great in deep water. Weakfish is steady, and Greenlawns and Jessups have nice size porgies. Snappers showed over the weekend, but larger bluefish are few and far between.” 

South Shore

Captain Josh Rogers of Gypsea Charters in Brooklyn reports: “Summer fluking is in full swing! We have been experiencing some of the best fluking of the year. Both boats have been on them, with the Lil’ Gypsea seeing limits on every trip this past week. Loads of shorts have been keeping people busy, with keepers coming up on each drift.” 

Bernie’s Bait and Tackle in Brooklyn reports: “Stripers are deep, the water is hot, and fishing is slow. Bluefish have left the area and they are non-existent. Fluke fishing is hot when they can be found. There are plenty of fluke in New York Harbor. We’ve even got reports of black drum up to 65 pounds! Additionally, cow nose rays invaded the area and they are wreaking havoc. Porgy fishing has been okay, but it’s best late afternoon to evening. The best porgy fishing is at night around bridges and the tin can grounds; the fish are 2 to 3 pounds. Finally, triggerfish is HOT on Rockaway Reef.” 

Brandon Weitz (@bweitz) from Causeway Bait and Tackle in Wantagh reports: “Fluke fishing continues to be pretty good in the bay and on the reefs out front; most guys are catching the keepers on live killies. A lot of cobia are coming up on the bunker pods as well, with fish ranging from 30 to 45 pounds. The tuna bite is pretty hot; bluefin and yellowfin are being caught trolling, jigging, and popping from mid-shore to offshore. Bigger bluefin are also being caught on live bait and deadsticked RonZs and NLBNs.” 

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Long Island and NYC!  

The Captree Fleet (@captreefleet) reports: “Ready for an unforgettable day on the water? The action in the bay this week is hot. Tons of keeper fluke have been caught, the largest being 6.6 pounds. On the offshore trips, sea bass fishing is still good with boats keeping their limits. We are also seeing ling, porgies, sea robins, triggerfish, mackerel, Cape shark, stripers and bluefish. Action has been nonstop! Now is the time to join us. Reservations are suggested for all open boat trips. Get your Gift Certificates! These are available to purchase in our office or online and can be used on any of our Members Boats. Call us at 631-669-6464 or visit us at captreefleet.com.” 

Sailing out of Moriches, Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters reports: “Tuna fishing has been great this week on the Rockfish. We’re catching a mix of bluefin & yellowfin, mostly between 30 and 90 pounds, which are the perfect charter size for us. We’re doing a mix of trolling and jig/pop, depending on our charters experience level and the bite that day. The fish are settling in nicely and have been fairly easy to locate day after day.” 

Tim O’Rourke of Montauk Point Fly Fishing (@mtkpointflyfishing) reports: “The inshore tuna bite remains red hot. The fish have moved out a little but are still between 20 and 30 miles. We are starting to see some mahi filter in as well. The guys fishing way out on the edge report solid tuna action with a nice mixed bag of bigeyes, yellowfin and albacore in the mix. I still haven’t heard anything about white or blue marlin yet, but that could change at anytime. Inshore bass fishing has moved out to the east of Montauk with fish hiding out in the deeper, cooler water.”

The Author’s Experience

On Sunday, I fueled up my 19-foot Whaler and blasted out of Manhasset Bay in search of striped bass. To say the least, it was a long, 1-hour day. With a calm south wind, I ran 40 miles east toward the middle Western Sound. Riding the shipping channel I watched the tannic water of the Western Sound turn a beautiful green as I drew further and further from home. This time of year, I look for clean water and quiet areas away from boat traffic—two things that are hard to come by! 

When hunting for summer bass, I’m always looking for clouds of sand eels. As I zipped around the shipping channel I could see the telltale dimples on the surface and clouds of sand eels on my screen. At approximately 11 AM, a school of sand eels surfaced, the birds began to dive and the bass started to swirl and blow up. Idling toward the fish, we started working spooks and plastics, however, the fish were hot on the move. The bite window was short; we had 10 minutes to capitalize before the birds disappeared and the bait left the area. 

While I didn’t want to give up on our shot at a bass, the doldrums of a summer day kicked in. The wind died and the sun rose, making everyone on board sluggish. Over the next 7 hours we plucked away at porgy and fluke, pensively waiting for another blitz to start. As 6 PM approached, our confidence began to wane when all of the sudden, swarms of terns began dive-bombing the water. As we pulled up to the birds, the screen was suddenly loaded with fish from 10 to 50 feet down. My buddy immediately launched a spook and went tight on a healthy slot fish. As he released the fish, my flutter spoon was crushed!

For the next hour we had twenty fish to 15 pounds out in the channel. As 8 PM came around, a school of bunker popped up 20 feet off our stern. Giant bass suddenly pulled up and began punting the bunker several feet in the air. Although we launched our plugs perfectly into the mix, the fish refused to cooperate. Following the school of giants, we were greeted by a fat stack of fish. We all tied on jigs, and I dropped a snap jig that was immediately eaten by a healthy 38-inch fish that had my Tranx screaming. 

With a sunset back drop, we continued to wail on fish until the last crack of light was gone. It was an hours-long grind that paid off! Summer bass fishing can be rewarding yet brutal.

Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast

There are still bass around the middle of the Sound, however, these fish are on short bite windows and they are not easy to catch. Unless you’re covering water on a boat at sunrise or sunset, catching bass may prove tough. There are definitely still bass around Montauk, but there is also a huge influx of brown sharks, so be careful when fighting and landing your fish. 

That said, fluke and porgy are still the summer mainstay. I’ve been having fun fishing 2000- to 3000-size reels paired with 7-foot light-action rods. A 1/4- to 1/2-ounce jighead with a small Gulp swimming mullet picks up monster porgy on the bottom! Simply tap it around a few times and wait for the thump. 

Looking toward August, the Western Sound usually gets a nice push of bluefish ranging from 5 to 15 pounds. I’m hoping that they flood back into Hempstead Harbor; we certainly have enough bait to support some healthy blues.

As for tuna, the bite remains red-hot off Montauk. The fish are fun size and willing to chew, and a short run just 10 miles off the tip could yield you tuna dinner! Break out the spreader bars, jigs, and poppers.