Updated: Thursday, August 27, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, September 3, 2026
This Montauk fishing report covers the last week of August, when the Point is holding its breath. The summer fishery is still strong, the first albies are showing, and the fall run sits three or four weeks out. Striped bass in the rips lead the list, with doormat fluke close behind. The tide is the condition to plan around: rips fish best on moving water at night and in low light.
What’s Hitting
Striped bass work the rips off the Point, best on the moving tide at dawn and after dark, with plentiful bluefish mixed in.
False albacore and bonito are starting to show around the Point and along the south side. It is early yet, but the first fish are always news here. Fluke sit on structure and deeper edges, with genuine doormats coming from rougher bottom. Porgies and sea bass crowd every rockpile, and offshore there are tuna and mahi for boats with the range and a good weather window.
Where to Find Them
The rips off Montauk Point, including the north and south rips and the tide lines around the lighthouse, are striper water. Fish the down-current side of the rip line where bait tumbles through.
Fluke use the rough bottom off the north side and out toward Block Island, on the sand-to-rock transitions. Porgies and sea bass are on rockpiles and wrecks throughout Block Island Sound. Find albies and bonito by looking for birds and bait along the south side beaches and around the Point on calm mornings. Surfcasters work the boulder fields at the Point and along the north side.
Tides & Conditions
Water temps peak for the year in the low 70s. That warmth draws the albies in and pushes striped bass into the low-light hours.
The tide is everything: a spot that is dead on slack is a wall of white water two hours later, so plan around moving water. Expect occasional morning fog and a southwest afternoon sea breeze building most days. Watch for the first cool northerly nights; they move the whole system forward.
Tackle & Tactics
- Rip stripers: a conventional or heavy spinning outfit with 50-pound braid, drifting a bucktail or live eel through the rip. At night, a darter or needlefish swung on the tide is classic and still works.
- Fluke: a bucktail with a Gulp trailer worked vertically on short drifts over hard bottom. Add a teaser.
- Albies: a light spinner, 20-pound braid, fluorocarbon and a small epoxy jig. The fish key on tiny bait, so profile matters more than color.
- Porgies and sea bass: clams and squid on a high-low rig.
Local Intel This Week
Launch at the Montauk Harbor ramps at Star Island and East Lake Drive, or the Three Mile Harbor ramp in East Hampton. Shore anglers have iconic access at Montauk Point State Park, the boulder fields at Turtle Cove and Camp Hero, and the Montauk jetties. Wading here is genuinely dangerous in a running tide, so learn the water at low light before you commit.
New York striped bass rules include circle-hook requirements for bait fishing, and fluke and sea bass carry their own seasons. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
In the rips, fish the seam behind the white water, not the white water itself. Stripers sit in the calmer pocket just down-current of the standing wave, waiting for disoriented bait to tumble past. Cast into the rip, let your offering wash through, and be ready as it drops out the back edge, where nearly every strike happens.
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