Porgy limits pile up in Long Island Sound as stripers bite dawn and dusk

What's biting

What's next

Expect the current pattern to hold into the next few days: scup and black sea bass remain the most reliable bite in the Sound, and with a waxing crescent moon keeping tidal swings moderate, bottom fishing around structure should stay consistent rather than swing dramatically with the tide. J&B Tackle notes bonito are continuing to move down into the area, typically an early signal that the fall transition is starting to set up along the Connecticut shoreline — worth watching over the next couple weeks as water temperatures ease off their summer peak.

Striped bass anglers should keep planning around the dawn and dusk windows J&B Tackle is already flagging as most productive, with live-lined eels the standout after dark. AW Marina's report of bass blitzes pushing close to the river mouth near Fort Trumbull Pier suggests bait is beginning to stage tighter to shore structure, a pattern that often intensifies as baitfish schools get pushed by cooling water and bigger predators. If that bait keeps concentrating, shore anglers working river mouths and points at first and last light should see more of these surface blitzes over the coming days.

Regionally, The Fisherman (Northeast) is already reporting striped bass blitzes from Narragansett to Plymouth and a surging bonito bite around Cape Cod, signaling the broader fall run is beginning to build to the north. Long Island Sound anglers can expect that same momentum to filter south over the next couple of weeks as bait pushes down the coast.

On the bottom, Tartan II and Black Hawk both describe strong, steady porgy and sea bass action with no signs of slowing, so weekend bottom-fishing trips should keep producing well, especially around structure at spots like Black Point, Niantic Bay, and Two Tree Channel per J&B Tackle. Fluke fishing there remains a numbers game — expect to sort through short fish for every keeper, so plan on fishing a full tide cycle rather than a short window to fill a limit.

Bluefish should stay in the mix but inconsistent, per Tartan II's note that they're being picky about which tides they'll feed on — target moving water around dawn or dusk for the best shot at the bigger fish mixed in with smaller blues.

Context

Mid-August is squarely within the season when Long Island Sound's bottom fishery — scup, black sea bass, and fluke — typically peaks, and this week's reports track that seasonal norm closely: Tartan II and Black Hawk are both describing lights-out porgy fishing and improving sea bass action, which is typical for this time of year rather than an early or late shift. Striped bass fishing on the Sound is usually a more mixed bag by mid-August as fish spread out and become more tide- and light-dependent — J&B Tackle's report of a dawn/dusk pattern with live eels producing after dark is consistent with that normal late-summer behavior rather than anything unusual.

The mention of bonito moving down, per J&B Tackle, lines up with the typical late-summer arrival of these fast-moving schoolies in the Sound, generally a few weeks ahead of the more dramatic fall run that peaks regionally come September and October. The Fisherman (Northeast) already describes striped bass blitzes and a surging bonito bite building from Narragansett to Cape Cod, a normal early signal of the fall transition taking shape to the north before it reaches Long Island Sound.

We don't have live buoy or gauge data for this update, so there's no direct water-temperature or flow comparison against a seasonal baseline to offer here — this read is built entirely from angler and shop reporting rather than instrument data. Beyond the general seasonal alignment noted by the Connecticut-based shops, none of this week's sources flagged the season as running notably ahead of or behind normal.