Montauk fishing report for the week of September 10, 2026. I have fished the Montauk fall run more Septembers than I can count, and this week had the feel of the good ones. The albies are under the lighthouse and along the south side, the bass are in the rips on the moving tide, and the peanut bunker and rainfish are pouring out of the harbor and the bays. The next six weeks are the best fishing on the East Coast, and this is the opening act.
What’s Hitting
What’s hitting this week is false albacore. The fish are blitzing under the lighthouse, along the north side toward Shagwong, and on the south side beaches from Ditch Plains to Hither Hills, feeding on rainfish and peanut bunker. Striped bass are in the rips off the Point on the moving tide, with fish from schoolies to the 30-pound class taking bucktails and live eels. Bluefish are mixed with the albies and in the rips. Fluke are still on the deeper edges but the season is closing soon. Sea bass and porgies are on the rock piles and the wrecks.
Offshore, the canyon boats have been catching yellowfin and bigeye tuna, and there have been some inshore bluefin on the bait east of the Point.
Where to Find Them
For albies, the water under the lighthouse on the tide changes, the north side from the Point to Shagwong on the ebb, and the south side beaches when the fish push in on the bait. For stripers, the rips off the Point on the flood and ebb, Shagwong Reef, and the Elbow, and the surf at Turtle Cove and the Point at night. Fluke are on the Frisbies and the deeper edges south of the Point. Sea bass and porgies are on the rock piles off the north side and around the Cartwright grounds.
Tides & Conditions
The new moon this weekend brings big tides, which makes the rips run hard and the albie feeding sharper on the tide changes. Winds have been southwest at 10 to 15 with a few northeast days, and the water is in the upper 60s. The northeast blows have pushed the bait onto the south side beaches, which has been good for surf anglers. Seas have been 2 to 4 feet.
Tackle & Tactics
For albies from the boat or the surf, a light spinning rod with 15 to 20-pound braid, a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader, and small metals or epoxy jigs retrieved fast. Fly anglers want a 9-weight with an intermediate line and small baitfish patterns. For stripers in the rips, bucktails with pork rind or a soft plastic, jigged in the rip, or live eels drifted through the rip at night. In the surf, bucktails and darters at the Point on the moving tide. Fluke want a bucktail tipped with a strip on the deeper edges.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Montauk town ramp at the harbor on East Lake Drive is the main launch, the Gin Beach area on the north side has a small ramp, and the ramp at Fort Pond Bay is a quieter option. Shore access is excellent — the Point, Turtle Cove, Ditch Plains, and the north side beaches are all reachable from the parking areas at Montauk Point State Park and Camp Hero. Fish are concentrating in the rips off the Point on the moving tide and along the beaches wherever the bait is pushing in. Check current New York DEC regulations before keeping fish — striped bass have a slot limit, fluke and sea bass seasons and limits are strict, and the fluke season closes soon.
This Week’s Tip
When the albies are blitzing under the lighthouse, the fish are moving fast along the edge of the rip, not sitting in one spot. Instead of casting at the last blitz, cast to where the rip is carrying the bait and let your jig sink for a count of three before you start the fast retrieve. The fish are feeding below the surface as much as on it.
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