False Albacore Push Fills In Around Long Island and Montauk

What's biting

What's next

Expect the albie bite to hold or build through the week as baitfish keep pushing out of the backwaters into open water, the exact mechanism Saltwater Edge credits for triggering the fall run. Watch for striped bass to wake up alongside the first real cold nights and any northerly wind, per Saltwater Edge's outlook; that's the cue to start working the surf again rather than staying committed purely to the open-water albie bite.

Fluke fishing is on the clock. On The Water describes these fish as already exiting the inlets and backwaters, so this week and next look like the tail end of a strong late-season run before fish move off the flats.

With the moon at first quarter, tidal swings this week are moderate rather than the stronger pushes of a full or new moon, good timing for working rips and current seams for albies without fighting extreme current. The coming weekend lines up with typical peak fall-run traffic, so expect more boats and surf anglers working the well-known Long Island and Montauk grounds as word of the albie push spreads.

Context

Late September is prime time for this exact handoff in the NY saltwater season. False albacore staging a push west through the Sound and off Montauk, while summer's resident fluke make their final exit from the bays and inlets, is textbook for this stretch of the calendar, neither early nor late. Striped bass typically lag a few weeks behind, waiting on a real cool-down to trigger the blitz-style fall run that defines October and into November here, so a slow start in mid-September, as regional shops describe, is normal rather than a sign of a weak season. Overall, the region is moving out of summer patterns and into the heart of the fall run, typically the most productive stretch of the year on Long Island and around Montauk.