Fluke and Bluefin Bite Run Hot as Fall Transition Builds on Long Island

What's biting

What's next

With water temps holding in the low-to-mid 70s and winds staying light around 5 m/s, the next two to three days should keep the South Shore fluke bite consistent, particularly around the incoming tide that Taylor Renee Charters flagged as the best window out of Babylon. Anglers working the reefs and rocks outside the inlets, as Bob's Bait and Tackle in Amity Harbor describes, should keep finding keeper-class fish mixed with the abundant shorts, especially on hi-lo rigs baited with larger Gulp or live spearing.

The bluefin bite shows no signs of slowing. On The Water's most recent Long Island report calls the jig bite 'red-hot,' and Bergen Bay Docks is still marking fish 5 to 10 miles off Fire Island Inlet around the Linda and Coimbra wrecks — that pattern should hold into the weekend as long as bait stays put in that zone. Farther east, Double D Charters out of Montauk is seeing savage light-tackle bluefish blitzes turn on regularly, a pattern worth watching for anglers planning a Montauk trip around the coming tide cycle.

The bigger story to track is the fall transition. Tight Lines Tackle and White Water Outfitters are both hearing rumors of false albacore showing near Shinnecock, and Spanish mackerel are already trickling into the Sound side per WeGo Bait and Tackle on the North Fork. If that pattern continues to build, expect albies and bonito to become a reliable target off the East End within the next couple of weeks rather than just rumor status. Anglers should have light tackle and small metals rigged and ready on any trip east.

Striped bass remain a secondary story for now, showing at inlets and harbor mouths on the right tide per Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle and Tight Lines Tackle, with soft plastics drawing attention around Northport Harbor. As water temps ease with the seasonal cooldown, expect striper activity to gradually build through early fall, typical for this time of year in the region.

With a waxing gibbous moon heading toward full, tide swings will be a bit more pronounced over the next several days — worth planning inlet and rip fishing around the peak moving water rather than the slack.

Context

Late August is typically the hinge point between the summer pattern and the fall run across Long Island and Montauk, and this year's reports line up with that seasonal script rather than running notably early or late. Fluke fishing described as 'excellent' by On The Water and multiple South Shore shops is consistent with the strong late-summer flatfish bite this region is known for, and the sustained bluefin jig bite reported inshore fits the pattern of tuna pushing closer to shore as summer winds down.

The early false albacore and Spanish mackerel rumors near Shinnecock, echoed by Tight Lines Tackle and White Water Outfitters, are the clearest signal that the fall transition is beginning on schedule. Saltwater Edge Blog, covering the neighboring Rhode Island grounds, notes the same shift happening regionally this week, with bonito and Spanish mackerel already showing and albies expected close behind — a useful leading indicator since that pattern typically reaches Long Island waters on a similar timeline.

Striped bass activity at inlets and harbor mouths reads as a bit ahead of a slow bite rather than a true blitz pattern yet, which tracks with water temps still sitting in the low-to-mid 70s; stripers tend to concentrate more heavily as temps ease further into September. There isn't enough data in this feed to say definitively whether this year's fall run timing will beat or lag prior seasons — that comparison would need a longer historical baseline than what's available here.