Updated: Thursday, September 17, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, September 24, 2026
This Montauk fishing report covers mid-September, when the fall run is on at the End. Striped bass are the lead target, filling into the rips off the Point, while false albacore break off the Lighthouse and the surf under the Light gives up fish at first light. Plan around the moving tide in the rips and the dawn window on the beach. I have made the Montauk run in September for more years than I want to count, and this stretch of the calendar is one to circle.
What’s Hitting
Striped bass in the rips lead the week. Expect fish from schoolie size to the 30-pound class stacked off the Point from the Elbow to Shagwong on the moving tide, with the bigger fish on the bottom and schoolies breaking on top under the birds.
False albacore blitz bay anchovies off the Lighthouse, along the south side beaches and in the harbor inlet, with bonito mixed in. Bluefish are everywhere in the surf and the rips. Sea bass and porgies are steady on the rocks and wrecks south of the Point, and the fluke season is in its final days on the south-side flats.
Where to Find Them
Fish the rips off the Point on both tides, with the Elbow, the Pollock rip and the North Bar the most consistent spots. Surf anglers should work under the Light and along the north side beaches at first light. Look for albies off the Lighthouse rocks, along the south side from Ditch Plains to the town beaches, and in the Lake Montauk inlet. Sea bass and porgies sit on the rocks in 40 to 80 feet south and east of the Point.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides between the moons soften the rips a little and stretch the fishable window on each tide. Expect water in the mid to upper 60s and dropping, right where bass and albies want it. Light northwest winds most mornings keep a manageable sea around the Point and the surf fishable on most days.
Tackle & Tactics
- Rip bass: a diamond jig or a bucktail with a pork rind trailer worked on the bottom for the bigger fish, and a topwater or soft plastic for breaking fish, on a 7-foot heavy spinning or conventional rod with 40 to 50-pound braid.
- After dark: live eels drifted through the rips take the largest bass.
- Albies: a small epoxy jig or a metal on 20-pound fluorocarbon, retrieved fast.
- Surf: a bucktail, needlefish or darter under the Light on an 11-foot rod with 50-pound braid.
- Sea bass and porgies: clam or squid on a high-low rig.
Local Intel This Week
The Lake Montauk public ramp at East Lake Drive is the main launch for the Point. On the north side, the Gin Beach and Navy Road access points put surf anglers on the beaches. Under the Lighthouse, Turtle Cove, Camp Hero and Ditch Plains are the main surf spots, and the south side beaches give shore access to the albies. Hit the surf at first light, then fish the rips on the moving tide. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
In the rips, the biggest bass sit on the bottom at the head of the rip, not in the white water. Drop your jig up-tide of the rip line so it reaches bottom just as the current pulls it over the edge, and be ready. The take usually comes on the first two cranks.
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