Montauk is rounding into early-summer form, and the first week of June is firing. Striped bass are working the rips, fluke season is open and producing, and the bottom fishing for sea bass and porgies has turned on. Here is the week’s outlook at the End.
What’s Biting
Striped bass are the headline, stacking in the rips off the Point and along the north and south sides on the moving tide. Fluke (summer flounder) are open and biting on the drifts in the bays and along the nearshore bottom. Black sea bass and porgies (scup) are open and thick on the structure. Bluefish are around the bait, and the first false albacore are not far off.
Where to Find Them
Fish the rips off Montauk Point and the structure along the north side for stripers on the moving tide. Drift the nearshore bottom and the bays for fluke. Sea bass and porgies are on the rock piles, the wrecks, and the reefs. Bluefish are mixed in with the bass and along the beaches on the bait.
Tides & Conditions
The rip bite revolves around the moving tide — fish the strong current and the tide changes. Water is warming into the upper 50s to low 60s. Mornings and the moving tides are the most productive. Watch the wind around the Point, where it can stack up against the tide quickly.
Tackle & Tactics
For rip stripers, bounce bucktails and diamond jigs through the current, and throw plugs on the surface blitzes. Live eels work after dark. Fluke fall to bucktails tipped with Gulp on the drift. Sea bass and porgies eat clams and jigs on the structure. Toss metal for the blues.
This Week’s Tip
In the Montauk rips, let the current do the work. Cast up-tide and bounce your bucktail down the face of the rip with the flow, keeping bottom contact — bass sit on the down-current side of the rip line and ambush bait tumbling through. Fighting the current with a too-light jig just keeps you out of the strike zone.