Updated: Thursday, May 14, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, May 21, 2026
This Montauk fishing report covers the week of May 14, 2026, and mid-May puts the East End in the heart of its spring run. Striped bass are the lead target, at full strength along the south side and in the rips at Montauk Point. Sea bass season is open on the wrecks, fluke and porgies fill in the drifts, and the first bluefin tuna sightings mark the start of the offshore season. Plan around the new moon on Saturday, which drives strong rips all week.
What’s Hitting
Striped bass lead the list. Expect fish in the 35–45 inch range in the rips, with cows in the 50-plus lb class for boats that put in time. Sea bass are open and the inshore wrecks are loaded with quality fish; a limit can come together in about 90 minutes.
Fluke are open on the bay side and the offshore drifts, and porgies (scup) crowd the rips. Offshore, the first bluefin tuna sightings come 20–30 miles out, with the real bite due to fire in late May and June. Mackerel stack offshore and give the bluefin chasers bait.
Where to Find Them
The south side from the Lighthouse west to Ditch Plains is loaded with bass. Work the Point rip at first light, False Bar at sunrise, and the Frisbie’s and Pollock Rip, where bait stacks with stripers underneath. North Bar and Great Eastern round out the rip program. From shore, fish Camp Hero, Ditch Plains, Turtle Cove and the rocks at the Point.
For sea bass, run to Stuckey, Frisbie’s, Cox Ledge and the Block Island wrecks in 60–110 feet. Fluke sit on the bay-side flats and along the Pollock Rip drift. Bluefin scouts run 30 miles south to the 40-fathom curve.
Tides & Conditions
Water temperatures sit at 55–58°F. The new moon on Saturday means hard-running rips through the week. Look for southwest wind Wednesday and Thursday, then a northeast breeze Saturday. Bass in the rips feed hardest on the strong moving tide and shut off on the slack, so the tide table matters more than the clock. Watch for the sand eel run starting on the south side; when it fires, every predator in the ocean follows it.
Tackle & Tactics
- Stripers: troll live bunker or chunk from anchor in the Point rips; cast live bunker at False Bar; work the white water with big plugs, pencil poppers and SP Minnows.
- Rip drifts: bucktails and live eels through the seams on the down-current edge, kept down in the water column where current concentrates bait.
- Surf: bunker chunks and pencil poppers at first and last light.
- Sea bass and porgies: squid and clam on a high-low rig.
- Fluke: bucktails tipped with squid strips or Gulp! drifted over sandy bottom.
Local Intel This Week
Boaters launch at the East Lake Drive ramp on Montauk Lake or the Star Island launch, the quickest runs to the Point, Shagwong and the north-side rips. Surfcasters use Montauk Point State Park to reach the rocks at the Point, and Camp Hero and Ditch Plains for the dawn and dusk windows. At Frisbie’s and the Pollock at dawn, bring big pencil poppers and SP swimmers, or anchor and chunk live bunker. New York requires saltwater registration. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
Build the trip around the current at the Point. Be in the rips as the tide starts to run, drift bucktails or live eels down the seam on the down-current edge, and move or rest when the water goes slack.
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