Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
North Shore
Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater) reports: “The weakfish bite has been decent in the western Sound, and snappers have been everywhere. They are blitzing night and day but especially around first light and dusk. These snappers make excellent fluke bait. I wouldn’t be surprised if these blitzing snappers are evading fluke in shallow water—some of the largest fluke I’ve ever caught have actually been under snapper blitzes. When it comes to bass, the cooling temperatures have the fish more active and you can find them around boulder fields and bay flats. The bait I’m seeing has all been on the smaller side; finding a school of bunker is extremely tough, but I’d like to think that the largest bass might be on a small pod if you can find them.”
The Angler Fleet (@anglerfleet) out of Port Washington reports: “The fall porgy fishing has been exceptional, with nearly all fish coming over the rails and going into the pail. We’ve also seen weakfish mixed in, along with tons of bait being pushed to the surface, likely by cocktail blues and bass. With the amount of bait around and water temperatures slowly dropping, the fall season for both tog and bass is shaping up to be a good one!”
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Andrew Bernat (@tactical_bassin26) reports: “This week I went scouting for tog around my local bay. It’s safe to say that the tog bite is going to be hot this fall on the North Shore. In a few hours, I was able to catch about 30 fish up to 4 pounds in just 6 feet of water. With the season approaching, I’ve stocked up on a ton of green crabs. Hopes are high for a killer tog season. That said, bass in the deep western Sound is a tricky game. The water is still super warm, and the name of the game is chucking bucktails and plastics in deep water. Along the back bay shorelines, bass up to 25 inches are chewing on mullet and peanuts.”
Gary Huang (@gh_fishing26) reports: “I started the day at sunrise looking for birds. The beach was dead for hours, but once the tide started going out in the afternoon, my friend and I finally saw the first signs of life. We scrambled to get the kayak in the water and paddled out to the birds. On the second blitz we chased, I hooked into a fish that initially didn’t seem quite as strong as last week’s albies. I thought it was a blue, but as it got closer to the boat, it started making some aggressive runs straight down. It bent my rod tip into the water over and over, screaming drag and all. Once I finally saw some color, I realized it was a bonito! We tail grabbed it and continued chasing the blitzes, which were smaller and less frequent compared to last week. We only got blues after that, so I consider myself very lucky to have gotten on board with my first bonito of the year. Shoutout to Game On Lures; their 3/4-ounce gold Exo Jig was the perfect imitation for the spearing these fish were gorging on.”
Mark at Cow Harbor in Northport reports: “Mini schools of albies showed, big sea bass are around, and plenty of porgy are chewing. As for bluefish, the fish remain outside the harbor, and there aren’t many around but the ones that are chewing are huge. Bass fishing is tough, but the night bite has been good for schoolies, most of which are 25-inch fish. Pre-season tog fishing has been good, there are plenty of them around. There’s no shortage of local fishing opportunities. Visit cowharbortackle.com or call 631-239-1631.”
Captain Skippy Charters out of Mount Sinai reports: “This week we’re happy to announce that fall fishing is in full swing in central Long Island Sound. Hardtails have arrived in the area and it’s been the best showing of bonito in years! Have your epoxy jigs and Deadly Dicks ready when you see birds. The large gator bluefish that we are accustomed to seeing this time of the year have been surprisingly absent the last few weeks, but cocktails are all around. Striped bass fishing has slowed down as the fish have started their fall migration out of the Sound, however there are still large fish in the harbors and on inshore structure. Casting topwater lures and trolling the tube-and-worm rig have proven to be the most effective strategies as of late. The bottom fishing bite for big porgies is phenomenal right now, with sea bass and weakfish in the mix as well. Big sea bass have moved into deep wrecks and rock piles and have been favoring squid.”
South Shore
Captain Arthur Cortes of Cortes Outfitters (@cortes.outfitters) in NYC reports: “Jamaica Bay is lively with bass, blues, and weakfish. More slot-sized fish are being seen in the mix as the weather cools down. Ocean side remains pretty quiet, but on nice days, you can look for bonito and albies. Our fly of choice this week is a pink Surf Candy, and lure of choice is a pink epoxy jig. Call 347-326-4750 to book or visit cortesoutfitters.com.”
Captain Scott Worth of North Fork Light Tackle Charters reports: “We got to experience the madness of this east end albie run, with some days consisting of the best widespread albie blitzes we’ve ever seen. On our last trip, we doubled up all morning and then did some sight fishing for stripers on the way home to round out a grand slam. I’m hoping the hot fishing continues after a couple days of wind and swell.”
The Captree Fleet reports: “Ocean fishing has been solid with steady fluke and sea bass action. We even had a 7.66-pound pool-winning fluke! Most of the keeper fluke are anywhere from 5 to 7 pounds. We are also slaying giant porgies and monster bonito. Our fleet is currently running the Fall Schedule, so please check our members’ website for new sailing times. Everything you need to fish is right on the boat included in the fare at no extra cost. Get your gift certificates, which are available in our office or online! They can be used on any of our Members Boats. The Fleet Charter Boats are now booking trips for the 2026 season.”
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Captain Doug Touback of Corazon Charters out of Freeport reports: “The big secret is tuna… maybe not such a secret though. We have been doing well behind the draggers, but live bait has been out fishing chunk baits. Also, we have been using lighter leaders and our bite ratio has increased. We’ll be doing this for a few more weeks as this fishing is phenomenal. We are looking forward to our split striped bass/giant bluefin trips, which will start at the end of October! Give us a call—we only have 2 dates left.”
Captain Josh Rogers of Gypsea Charters out of Brooklyn reported: “Another good week of fishing for both boats. The big stripers have begun to filter in; we had fish to 48 inches caught over the past week. Although there were some slots in the mix, most of the fish that came up were trophy sized. On the Little Gypsea, we have continued tov run our J Bay specials, which have been seeing some insane weakfish action with blues, bass, and fluke in the mix. We will continue this schedule until blackfish season opens on the 15th!”
Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters (@rockfishcharters) out of Queens reports: “It was more of the same this week on the Rockfish. The eastern Long Island dragger bite continues to produce in spades. We stopped fishing directly behind the draggers and are just setting up in their vicinity, throwing out a couple net fulls of live bunker, then counting to 10 (not really, but it’s almost that quick). As long as you have lots of live bait, it’s easy to keep the school behind your boat and catch as many as you want. Hopefully these fish will stick around another two weeks while we start our striped bass season and run the handful of tuna trips left in our schedule.”
Tom Truehart (@northshoretommy) reports: “Boats and more boats this past Saturday. Once again, the weather has been great for guys like me who can get out on the weekends; the only problem with that is everyone goes offshore. The yellowfin tuna bite has been off the charts and everyone wants in. The guys that got out early did very well behind the draggers but once the fleet developed, the bite slowed down. I tried everything I could think of to get some fish on the boat and eventually we stuck a nice yellowfin. It was definitely a grind compared to other days this past week, but the guys were happy and so was I. Kevin dropped down a butterfish behind a dragger after I had noticed that all the fish were down deep and bam! He was tight before he could even get it into the zone. I’m curious to see what happens after these storms pass. Good luck!”
Bill Falco (@fishlongisland) at Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle in Oakdale reports: “Fluke reports are insane this week. Multiple fish in the 9- to 10-pound range were caught, and we even had a monster 12.51-pound fish weighed in at the shop. Barry Bausch nailed this doormat (shown below) right in the bay. Fluke season is always amazing for the last few weeks, so get out there and catch the flatty of a lifetime! Fish light tackle with BIG baits on the end. They’re loving 5- to 6-inch grubs and the big Nemesis. Don’t forget a teaser for extra enticing action on the rig. There is no shortage of snapper to cocktail bluefish ripping around the bay, eating up schools of peanuts. Local stripers are starting to move around, and some migratory fish are starting to trickle in. Bucktails and darters are pulling in the big ones. Weakfish reports this week were pretty good. Some nicer fish are finally showing up, but they’re picky! Size down and go for a more natural presentation to dial in.”
White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports: “Prior to the swell and storm, there were a ton of albies around locally and in Montauk. The bass bite seems to get better by the day locally, and there are a ton of small bluefish around. Fluke fishing is decent in the bay, with lots of keepers on the smaller side. Tons of yellowfin are midshore on the draggers. This wind is a toss up: it could stir things up for the better, or really mess things up.”
From the Montauk surf, Brandon Sausele reports: “The fall run in Montauk has started to take shape as of late. There’s bait everywhere, from the north side to the south side to sand. I have been seeing mullet and tons of spearing on the south side. Without any crazy storms or temperature swings recently, the bait’s been holding and so have the fish, even through the moons. For the past couple weeks there was a pick of 20-pound-class fish scattered across various points and coves on the south side following the bait. I picked a bunch from 25 to 29 pounds, as it seemed hard to break the 30-pound mark with most of the fish lean. Recently, however, some larger fish moved in, with Wetzel landing a 31 pounder and my 34 pounder, both for the Montauk Surfmasters Tournament. The fish have been aggressively taking most presentations including bottles, darters, and needles, and have been chewing on both tides if you can find them. With this offshore ground swell coming and the full moon next week, things are most likely changing as we speak.”
Captain Peter Douma (@doum_flies) of Windward Outfitters in Montauk reports: “This week may have been the best albie bite of the year so far in Montauk. We had fish showing all day, but the mornings really shined with huge foaming blitzes and fish eager to eat. Pretty much any classic albie fly patterns worked well, but topwater patterns and larger patterns seemed to stand out the best in the frenzy. On the spin side, Albie Snax are basically all I used with great success. Later in the day, they’ve been popping up too but usually smaller, short-lived blitzes. The fish can be a little picky, but make long drifts and quick, well-placed casts and you’ll have success. In addition to albies there have been some really nice bonito mixed in and some huge blues underneath the albie blitzes. With water temps around 70, hopefully this bite holds up until the bass show.”
Anthony from Go Deep MTK (@godeepmtk) reports: “This past week has been crazy—bass, blues, and albies are firing. On Friday, I found a bunch of bass at night on the sand during high water. Over the weekend, I found tons and tons of albies and blues on the boat. There are so many albies that eventually, it gets boring. We are mixing it up and throwing just about everything and the fish are crushing every plug and jig. As the water cools down, I predict an epic run of bass next week.”
Captain Tim O’Rourke of Montauk Point Fly Fishing (@mtkpointflyfishing) reports: “Montauk is seeing unprecedented amounts of false albacore and on the right tide, you can find schools that stretch for miles in the rips. The striped bass are slowly making an appearance with bigger fish starting to set up in the rips. Surfcasters are starting to pick away at fish with the occasional 40-pound bass caught. Offshore is still awesome with the yellowfin bite being a really strong option. More quality swordfish are also being caught in the deep on the night bite.”
The Author’s Experience
This week I searched for some weakfish on the South Shore with my buddies Andrew Bernat and Sean Conway. During our night mission, we snuck up on the dock lights and watched as weakfish lurked around the shadow lines. Like ninjas, we slowly crept around the docks armed with X Raps, jerkbaits and jigs. The method is simple: cast into the shadows, dig the jerkbait in, and reel it in super slow. The fish love to follow the plug and often times refuse to hit it. But, once in a while, they absolutely clobber the plug. While we didn’t come tight, it was nice to grind it out! After all, you have to put in the time…
As far as striped bass go, I can’t say I’ve been trying too hard. My area deep in the western Sound isn’t too conducive to good bass fishing right now. That said, we typically get a late fall run here. The deep western Sound is a hidden late fall gem. With temperatures cooling and bait flooding into the Sound, it’s only a matter of time before mega bluefish show up. They love to creep their way into local bays and backwaters in search of food. It’s not uncommon to find them finning with their backs out of the water.
On another note, this fall I’ve been really forcing myself to try out new lures. A favorite of mine has been the Yellow Star C-dar Mini. It is essentially a casting cedar plug, and my favorite size has been a ¾-ounce in nutmeg color, which is essentially unpainted finished wood. I typically snap this thing around like a spook and it cleans up both hardtails and bass. The presentation mimics mullet and peanut bunker. Keep in mind the plug is light, so I typically fish it on a moderate action 7- to 8-foot rod in order to get the plug to walk.
Another lure I’ve been trying out is the Savage Gear Sand Eel Pencil. This plug sports a slim sand eel profile and flashy lateral line. Unlike most pencil poppers, it throws very little water when worked properly. Believe it or not, this plug crushes finicky albies!
Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast
It’s no secret that the eastern Sound and Montauk are experiencing an albie run for the books! This bite has largely been fueled by consistent bait and steady weather. That said, we experienced some hefty winds the last couple days that have kept folks jonesing on the dock. This wind is tricky… there is a chance that the albies stick around Montauk or get pushed to the North Shore. It’s a tossup, but I have no doubts that the albies will stick around til November, although they might be traveling somewhere new.
As the leaves change and fall really kicks in, we should see epic blitzes. All I keep hearing about is the amount of bait present around the island. Mullet, peanut bunker, spearing, and sand eels are on the menu. One thing that concerns me is the lack of adult bunker. I know those cow bass are looking for big bunker, so I’m hoping they show up this fall.
Keep in mind that the full moon is October 6th. With cold nighttime temperatures, resident and migratory fish should be on the prowl. As I’ve said in the past, the three days before the full moon and the three days after give up big bass. The full moon exacerbates current and creates large tide swings, which means higher flood tides and lower ebb tides. The currents created by the full moon attract big fish looking for the right snack, so plan your outings accordingly.
While we’ve had hints of the fall run, the large body of striped bass that we’re accustomed to seeing hasn’t quite made their way in yet. That said, resident fish should be chewing. If you’re going out at night, you can’t go wrong with a Mag Darter, needlefish, glider, rigged eel, or live eel. I’d recommend setting up on a boulder field toward the eastern Sound where the water is a bit colder than the western Sound. I believe that the night bite at the moment will be much more conducive than the daytime bite. After this full moon, air temperatures should continue to drop, which will fuel daytime blitzes.
For those of you on the South Shore, we’re still a ways off from the open beach bite. In just a few short weeks, the inlets should start giving up some big fish. If you’re looking for a daytime bite, start gathering your diamond jigs, Deadly Dicks, and sand eel presentations. As for the night bite, a needlefish is always killer. Keep in mind that these migratory fish are always on the move. Once the bite really starts, they tend to school together which can lead to pockets of steady action. Don’t wait for the fish to come to you, be an active angler and target a wide variety of open beach spots.
As for tog, I’m hearing that preseason scouting is going well. Guys fishing for sea bass are pulling up 4- to 5-pound tog and plenty of shorts. It seems that we’re in for a good blackfish season. Be sure to stock up on fluorocarbon leader and green crabs. Once the tog season is underway, shops might start running out of bait, so go out there and secure your green crabs in advance.