Long Island and NYC Fishing Report
Capt. Kenny of The Angler Fleet out of Port Washington reports: “Fluke fishing in the Western Sound continues to produce plenty of life. The short fish are everywhere, with the bigger doormats lingering on every ledge. The increase of sand eels as of late has been driving the bite, with plain Jane spearing on a hook doing most of the damage. Slender plastics and thin profiles are the name of the game right now. Hammer the bottom at every spot you hit, and you should come home with sore arms and fish for the fryer. Find the bait, find the fish, and catch ’em up!”
Mark at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport reports: “There are a good amount of Spanish mackerel in the Western Sound, but the albies typically show around Halloween. Smaller bass are starting to move in, with schoolies to 10 pounds sitting off the beach. Small bait will fuel the fall run. Peanut bunker are returning, and smaller schoolie bass are showing up. Light tackle and fly are a fun way to get ’em. There are still plenty of short fluke around from the boat and beach.”
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Captain Doug Toback of Corazon Fishing Charters (@corazonfishing) out of Freeport reports: “We did it again! Bluefin on our fluke trips along with bonito and false albies. Small feathers are working best on the pelagics, including the bluefin tuna. Fishbites 5-inch grubs are consistently catching our bigger fluke. We have started switching over to the 6-inch grubs as the season’s final push is beginning. Corazon Fishing is locked in right now on what is the best fishing of the year and it should only get better until the first big nor’easter.”
Aqualina Charters (@aqualinacharters) out of Moriches Bay reports: “We saw slower fishing this week due to the full moon and high-pressure system. There’s a ton of bait around still, which bodes well for the end of the fluke season. We should have a good finale with the bay and ocean.”
Captain Adrian Moeller of Rockfish Charters (@rockfishcharters) out of Moriches reports: “Very consistent week on the Rockfish, with a steady pick every morning from first light until 8 a.m. After that, it’s a grind. The fish are concentrated into a fairly small area and within reach of a lot of boats, so if you don’t box up early, you’re not going to unless you get lucky and run into a feed—which does happen, but not as much this season as in years past. But we still have our best yellowfin fishing of the year ahead of us, so the bite should continue to improve. Right now, we’re averaging 3 to 5 fish, mostly bluefins, a trip, but yesterday the yellowfin showed up, so let’s see what tomorrow brings. We have a handful of 2026 tuna dates left. Grab ’em at rockfishcharters.com.”
Captain Rob Lehnert of North Fork Adventures Charters (@northforkadventurescharters) out of Southold reports: “Lots of porgies & sea bass out in Gardiners Bay, but you have to cull through large amounts of shorts to get a few keepers. Peconic Bay is spotty, with a few small weakfish. I’m running the extra distance to Gardiners when I can.”
Capt. Pete Douma (@doum_flies) of Windward Outfitters out of Montauk reports: “Kind of a grindy week on the tuna grounds locally, but we still were able to get them. The trick this week was staying far from the fleets and slowly working RonZs near the bottom. Pink and white glow worked best for me, but I do think just getting it in the zone was most important. Still waiting for a good, steady yellowfin bite, but we are seeing it slow down for close bluefin as water temps have started to drop below 70 again. While my nearshore bite is slowing, my inshore bite seems to be ready to explode. There is an incredible amount of bait everywhere right now. Mostly small bay anchovies are being chased by bluefish, mackerel, and (finally) bonito, albeit small ones. There are also bunker pods along the ocean beaches with some good blues on them, but also lots of sharks. I did see some bass feeds this week toward the bay on peanuts, but they’re less predictable. Albie-wise, I think we will start seeing them in numbers any day. There have been a few sightings and even a couple strays caught, but it’s setting up to be another banner year for them.”
The Author’s Experience
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of fishing with my long-term friend Chris Meagher. With some iffy weather, we blasted out toward the tuna grounds. The August full moon definitely had the tuna in a bit of a funk. As we pulled into 120 feet of water, we were greeted by a few tuna chicks picking away. We swiftly picked up the jigging rods and dropped down 200-gram jigs. Chris came tight within five minutes on a Chatter Lures silver jig. A few moments later, we were greeted by a small but feisty 30-inch tuna. In hopes of hooking a large fish, we opted to release the little guy. While we marked fish here and there the rest of the day, the bite shut off.
Fast-forward to Sunday, we hit the same spot. While it took a few hours to find a few marks, they began rolling in steadily. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t capitalize on the marks. That said, in the ninth inning at 3 p.m., Captain Ben Burdine hailed me into an area, and we marked 3-4 fish on the screen. With a well-timed drop of the 180-gram jig, we came tight. The fish was the spitting image of the one we landed the day before. Once again, we opted to release it.
It is evident that a new class of fish has pushed into the tuna grounds south of Block Island. The larger 45- to 60-inch fish have left the area. The summertime tuna chew off Montauk appears to be coming to an end. That said, we will have a yellowfin dragger bite if you can find the draggers farther offshore!
I’m excited to give the tuna a break and start picking away at albies!
Long Island & NYC Fishing Forecast
September is here. It seems as though the albies have swerved Massachusetts for the most part; they should be there in force. This is shaping up to be similar to last year, and the albies may concentrate in Montauk. The area is inundated with butterfish, sand eels, and squid—plenty of forage to keep these fish happy for a large portion of fall. In my offshore endeavors, I’ve been seeing the albies, so it’s only a matter of time before they flood in.
Close cousins of albies, the bonito, have arrived. These aren’t sizeable bones, but they range from a mere few inches to 3 pounds. Plenty of fun on light tackle and fly. Again, now is the time to stock up on epoxy jigs, Albie Snax, and micro RonZs.
As for the bass bite, it’s going to start picking up on the tail end of September. We need some cooler temps to activate the fish!