Albies and Fluke Fire Up Long Island's Fall Run

What's biting

What's next

Striped bass are the one to watch heading into the weekend. Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Huntington reports stripers in the 10- to 20-pound range showing after dark from Asharoken east toward Sunken Meadow, and WeGo Bait and Tackle on the North Fork says bass are starting to cooperate after dark too. Double D Charters expects the bite to break wide open once the current stretch of northeast wind lets up, and early-October bass charter dates are already filling.

Tide timing matters this week: Montauk sees low water around 2:05 AM EDT with the next high near 8:05 AM EDT, so the dawn incoming tide lines up well for albie and bass work around the inlets. Kings Point, up in the Sound, doesn't peak until closer to 10:38 AM EDT, which gives Sound-side spots a later morning window worth working instead.

The moon is waxing toward full over the next several nights, building tidal current and favoring the after-dark bass bite that's just starting to show. Expect fluke and bluefish to hold steady through the week as both stage for their fall exit, with albies remaining the most reliable daytime target around the inlets.

Context

This is right on schedule for Long Island and Montauk. Late September is peak timing for false albacore to run hard through the inlets before pushing back offshore, and the spread this week, from the East End surf through the West End, matches a normal fall calendar rather than an early or late one. Striped bass are following their usual script too, with a trickle of after-dark fish now building toward the heavier push that typically defines October. Fluke and bluefish holding strong into late September is typical of this stretch of the season, as both stage before moving out. Tautog season hasn't opened yet, but shops on the North Shore are already gearing up for the blackfish debut, a reliable marker that the fall transition is fully underway.