Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
North Shore
Captain Skippy Charters out of Mount Sinai reports: “This week, fall fishing is in full swing in the central Long Island Sound. Keep your eyes out for birds and have your epoxy jigs and Deadly Dicks ready for bonito and cocktail bluefish. After a slower week, a new wave of striped bass have entered the area with fish from schoolie-size to 25-pounds hammering topwater plugs. We have been working with Grayfish Tag to give anglers a unique opportunity to catch, name, and release large striped bass in the name of science, and this week, we want to give a shout out to Josh Perry who tagged and released a big bass named “Swim Shady” that he caught on a pencil popper! Bottom fishing 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. We are currently running private 1-4 passenger mixed-bag trips targeting striped bass, bluefish, black sea bass and porgies until blackfish opens October 11th.”
The Angler Fleet (@anglerfleet) out of Port Washington reports: “The fall porgy fishing has been excellent, with nearly all fish being keepers and some weakfish and throwback blackfish mixed in. With tons of bait on the surface and water temps starting to drop, conditions are lining up perfectly as we head into blackfish season, opening this Saturday, the 11th!”
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Captain Scott Worth of North Fork Light Tackle Charters reports: “There continues to be an amazing amount of albies on the east end and we have been targeting them on spin and fly. Bass activity is starting to pick up and I imagine it will only get better once the impending nor’easter blows through.”
Nick Cancelliere (@nick_onthewater) reports: “I went east to the South Fork this weekend in search of more albies. What I discovered were massive piles of bay anchovies right off the beach, and no albies to be found. Mackerel were everywhere, though, and occasionally boiled on the rain bait. There were also some fluke willing to hit my epoxy jig as I bounced it off the bottom, waiting for the funny fish to show. It was unseasonably warm on Saturday, and hot and miserable on Sunday, but I baked under the sun expecting the albies to show up by mid-day. They never did, so unfortunately, I completely skunked on albies for the first time this year and somehow got sunburned in October. I heard the next day from multiple sources that they were running hard on the North Fork. This weekend looks much cooler and wetter compared to last, and I think we’ll see those Montauk albies fill in again once the water cools down a bit.
Andrew Bernat (@tactical_bassin26) reports: “North Shore this week. The mix of species and action levels are giving anglers plenty to get excited about. False albacore are pushing west, with pods showing up off popular points and beaches. Early risers and mobile casters covering water with epoxy jigs and small metals are connecting. The bite’s been fast-paced, so be ready when they blitz. Weakfish remain in the mix, especially in deeper channels and along drop-offs. Anglers working soft plastics or bucktails tipped with Gulp are finding quality fish when the tide slows down. Blues are stacked up in good numbers, with steady catches of 4- to 8-pounders. They’re crushing tins and topwaters alike, offering classic fall mayhem for anyone chasing surface strikes. Bottom fishing remains strong, with jumbo porgies to 17 inches coming up for those jigging or using clam strips over hard bottom. The bite’s been consistent through both tides. Bass activity has picked up at first light and sunset, with smaller fish hammering topwater plugs in shallow water. As the evenings cool, larger bass are starting to mix in.”
South Shore
Captain Josh Rogers of Gypsea Charters in Brooklyn reported: “The fall run is in full effect! Both boats have been treated to some phenomenal weakfishing, along with trophy striped bass. We have been utilizing live bait on these trips and the results have been there. As the water cools even more, the fish will continue to show up in numbers. Blackfishing also opens on the 15th, so we are geared up to start soaking some crabs as well!”
Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters (@rockfishcharters) in Queens reports: “I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but this yellowfin bite somehow managed to get even better—especially because last years was to terrible…we didn’t land a single yellowfin all season in 2024! Friday’s tuna trip was one of our most memorable yet. We had 4 on at a time from beginning to end; just one long drift until we ran out of bait. The key has been getting them going with live bait, mahi style, then just keep hand feeding them in your slick till the box is full. Make sure you bring small hooks, long fluoro top shots, and fish with light leaders. Our bass season started on the 5th, and there are a lot of 30- to 40-inch fish around in all the usual end-of-summer spots. There’s adult bunker off the beaches and plenty of easy-to-catch live spot around every marina. And of course, live eels always get the job done, too.”
Captain Doug Touback of Corazon Charters in Freeport reports: “The yellowfin tuna bite has been as good as it gets while chunking around the draggers. We have been using light leaders and light Daiwa setups with great success. We are also keeping an eye out on the fall striper run. The bait is here, but the bass have not filled in near us just yet.”
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Bobby Lee (@bobbyy_lee) reports: “I hopped on a 52-foot Viking called the “Whitewater” out of Shinnecock earlier this week. You never know what you will catch while canyon fishing in late September. We were trolling along the ridges of West Atlantis minutes before sunset when we had the chance at a bigeye. It was the calm before the storm—a beautiful, calm evening when all of a sudden the long rigger with an 8-ounce weighted ballyhoo went off like a freight train. We sprung into action, strapped on a belt and started to put the brakes on this fish, and it did the same to me. We played tug of war for around 45 minutes until he finally started to come up. This fish was acting very erratic towards the end game, doing complete 360s and swimming over 9 knots passing the boat! Finally we got him close enough to hit him with the gaff, and onto the deck! The fish taped out at 68 inches, estimated over 200 lbs. It was the best one of the season for us, and one to remember.”
Captain Peter Douma (@doum_flies) of Windward Outfitters in Montauk reports: “The best albie bite we’ve had here in Montauk, in years, just keeps going. Last week’s wind did little to slow down the bite. By thursday, with the swells subsiding and water cleaning up, the albies filled in really strong again and continued to get better each day with more and more fish over 10 pounds in the mix. The weekend crowds and bluebird skies did make them a little trickier, but getting away from the crowds, dropping to a lighter leader, and looking in deeper water turned out to be super productive. I looked for high-flying birds rather than busting fish and put a lot of albies in the boat just blind casting topwater flies and Albie Snax. After the weekend, albies were blitzing on smaller bay anchovy schools nonstop without the boat pressure on them. It seemed like the outgoing was the better tide last week, but I had plenty of fish on the incoming as well. Lots of good-size bonito around too, particularly around slack tide, with bass just starting to fill in. It’s shaping up to be a really great late fall.”
Anthony of Go Deep MTK (@godeepmtk) in Montauk reports: “Coming into the weekend we were hammered by some windsand waves from the hurricane offshore, spreading out the bite for both surfcasters and boat anglers after the fact. Friday night, a few of us picked nice-size fish off the beaches but it didn’t happen in the form of a bite—more like luck after of hours of fishing with no action. Over the weekend, the albies were still around but spread out with sharks, jumping dolphins, and whales, along with a few lone bass, being seen across the surface. The entire weekend bite was a bit of work while the water settled down. Come early week, with the full moon passing, the albies showed up again en masse on the south side, hammering the Slob Slammer hybrid epoxy jigs. The lucky few anglers in the surf got a chance at them too, as we watched guys chasing their lines sideways down the beaches and then running back the other direction. The bass have been showing up in small groups of various sizes. Nothing consistent yet, but a few are being plucked away in the surf at night with many shad hitting small jigs and bucktails. The northeast wind and rain should cool down the water and by the end of this weekend, things should clean up. It’s overdue for the bass to move in, but they will. They are still up by Cape Cod and Block Island but the amount of bait by Montauk right now is insane. With that being said, if you want to get in on the big bass bite, don’t expect to hear about it until it’s over. It’s coming, so it’s time to put in the hours. Get a line in the water and be ready for when it goes off.”
The Author’s Experience
This past week I had the pleasure of fishing with Montauk local Anthony Ferrandino of Go Deep MTK Lures. We started off hitting the south side of Montauk bright and early. As the sun came up we watched dozens of schools of albies crush spearing. As soon as we pulled up, I made a well-timed cast and smoked one boat side. My 10 weight made quick work of the fish. By 8 AM, the fish seemed to suddenly disappear. In search of more action, we slowly made our way down the beach when we were greeted by a swarm of birds and nervous water. We casted several dozen times but there seemed to be zero fish on it, so we flipped around and decided to leave the scene. As we were getting up on plane we immediately noticed a massive whale breaching in just 30 feet of water. Truly a sight to behold.
We began the short journey to Block Island and as soon as we arrived, we were greeted by a bottom littered with huge sea bass and porgy. The 80g Slob Slammer did the trick. As soon as the jig hit bottom, the fish absolutely gobbled it up. I even landed my largest porgy ever!
After a short while, we decided to send it back toward Montauk. As we approached the lighthouse we found another small pocket of albies and within seconds, Anthony launched the Slob Slammer and got crushed by a fat albie. We then crept toward Shagwong, where we found plenty of albies ripping around on spearing. That said, these fish were technical and tough! We chased them for 2 hours with every lure and fly on board, and although we didn’t land one, I was able to hook one on the fly and receive two follows.
All in all, we fished an active 8 hours! Shoutout to Anthony for showing me a good time.
Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast
Looking ahead, we have some cool weather and short storms rolling through. The stormier the better! We need north wind to fuel the fall run and cool down water temperatures. Now that the full moon has passed, the bass are sure to be more active. The open beaches should be lighting up with the first push of big fish. It’s time to hit the night tides and throw big needlefish and darters. Consider tying a tail flag on the plug as well. A long piece of hackle or bucktail tied on a cut hook shank will add beautiful action to the plug and can sometimes entice a bite when the bass are on smaller bait.
In the Sound, I have a feeling that the albies will push deep into the western Sound. There is an immense amount of bait, so we may experience a late run of fish in the shipping channel. These fish love to crush bait on the surface over deep water.
October 11th marks the blackfish opener in the Sound. Everyone I speak to has been scouting out shallow water spots. Larger fish seem to be chewing in just 10 feet or less, so jigs on light spinning rods are doing the job. Grab your crabs, go shallow and be patient… swing when you feel the thump!