Updated: Thursday, August 13, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, August 20, 2026
This Montauk fishing report covers mid-August, when the season starts turning. Striped bass are the lead target in the Point rips at dawn and after dark, and the new moon at the end of the week brings the strongest rip tides in a month, the condition that shapes every trip. The first false albacore show to the west, and the north-side fluke grounds give up some genuine doormats. It is a busy stretch on the water, and an early start is worth more than in July.
What’s Hitting
Striped bass work the Point rips on the strong tides, best at dawn and after dark. Bluefish are mixed in and can be thick enough to be a nuisance on the drift. Fluke are the standout day fishery, with good numbers and some large fish on the north-side structure and the deeper rips.
Porgies stack on every piece of hard bottom and sea bass sit on the wrecks. Look for the first bonito and false albacore along the south shore. Offshore, tuna are at the Butterfish Hole and Coxes Ledge on the flat days.
Where to Find Them
The Point rips, Shagwong and the Elbow are the striped bass water on the moving tide. North-side structure from Gin Beach toward Cerberus Shoal is the better fluke ground. The rock piles off Culloden and around Great Eastern hold porgies and sea bass.
Surfcasters work the Point and the North Bar on the tide change at first light and last light, the windows when low light and moving water bring bass in close.
Tides & Conditions
Expect water of 68 to 72 degrees. The new moon brings the biggest rip tides of the month, which is when Montauk fishes best and also when it gets dangerous for small boats, since the rips build fast against a wind-over-tide.
Plan on seas of 2 to 3 feet with a southwest breeze filling in by afternoon. Build the trip around the current tables and be off the Point before the wind stands the rip up.
Tackle & Tactics
- Rips: diamond jigs and heavy bucktails in the 3- to 6-ounce range, or live eels drifted after dark on 50-pound leader. The weight matters because a light lure gets swept past the fish before it reaches them.
- Fluke: drift a bucktail-and-teaser with a squid strip or a live snapper blue, adding weight to stay vertical in the current.
- Porgies: clam or squid on a high-low rig.
- Albies: if they show, a small metal on 20-pound braid and a 15-pound leader is the whole program.
Local Intel This Week
Montauk Harbor and the Star Island ramp are the practical launches, both crowded from dawn on summer weekends, so get to the ramp early. Shore anglers fish the Point at Camp Hero and the North Bar on the tide change, and Montauk Point State Park gives shore access to the Point itself.
Fish concentrate in the rips and on the north-side structure rather than spreading across the open sound. Striped bass, fluke and sea bass carry size and season restrictions. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
In the rips, fish the back of the standing wave, not the face. Bait tumbles over the shoal and gets disoriented in the slower water behind the break, and that is where the bass sit. Drop back into the trough and jig it there rather than working the whitewater.
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