Keeper Fluke Chewing the Bays as Montauk Stripers Stay Hot

What's biting

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The week of June 24 puts Long Island in a classic early-summer groove, with multiple quality species in the water simultaneously. The First Quarter moon is building toward full over the coming days, which means strengthening tidal flow on the rips and in the inlets — prime conditions for striped bass feeding on the current breaks that define Montauk fishing. Plan morning and evening windows as your best sessions for bass, particularly when working squid and sand eel imitations on the rips, which have been the standout approach per On The Water's June 18 report.

Fluke fishing in the South Shore bays and Peconics looks well-positioned to carry through the weekend. Summer flounder tend to consolidate on clean sand-and-shell bottom as surface water warms into July, and the fact that On The Water is already calling keeper fish "chewing better" is an encouraging early signal. Bay channel drifts and points remain the go-to structure. OTW Saltwater's recent piece on fishing jerkbaits in the back bays is worth bookmarking if you want to cover water efficiently and trigger reaction strikes from less active fish.

Bluefish are a wildcard worth keeping on the radar. The NY DEC regulation change — no size limit, five-fish bag — removes the counting pressure from targeting blues, and late June historically brings surface blitzes when bunker or sand eels push along the beachfronts. Keep a topwater plug or a small metal ready on a second rod whenever you're working the rips or nearshore structure.

Offshore, giant bluefin have been showing within reach of the NYC metro area, per On The Water, and the canyon bite for bigeye tuna remains a legitimate run for longer-range boats — OTW Saltwater highlights deep-bait technique over structure as a key factor for that fishery. Building moon tides mid-week could favor an offshore run before current intensifies through the weekend.

One situational note: shark presence is worth tracking. OTW Surfcasting recently reported video evidence of brown sharks moving through a New England striper school, and white sharks have been sighted off Massachusetts. With baitfish concentrations building off Montauk's rips, anglers working hooked stripers should stay alert, particularly when fighting fish near the surface.

Context

Late June marks a genuine transition in the Long Island saltwater calendar. The spring striped bass migration — defined by waves of fish pushing northeast along the coast on cold water — has effectively concluded as a tracking event. OTW Saltwater's June 23 striper migration recap described it as the final report of 2026, with the conversation now shifting from intercepting moving fish to understanding where resident or slow-moving populations are holding. What remains at Montauk and in the eastern Sound is a fishery defined by local structure, forage, and tidal timing rather than the predictable convoy of migrating fish that marks April and May.

For the region broadly, this is historically one of the most species-diverse windows of the year. NY DEC's sequential newsletters this spring — confirming open seasons for striped bass, summer flounder, scup, and bluefish — align exactly with what late June typically delivers in New York's marine waters. The convergence of these seasons, along with offshore species like bluefin tuna moving into canyon range, creates genuine variety for anglers who want to shift tactics or targets day to day.

The striped bass picture carries some nuance this season. OTW Surfcasting's recent reflection on the current state of the fishery is honest about the split reality: the bite can feel as good as it has ever been, or as tough as it has been in years, depending on geography and timing. That framing tracks with broader stock concerns that have circulated through the management community. The Montauk rip bite on squid and sand eels described by On The Water is consistent with what late June historically offers — bass exploiting current breaks loaded with forage — but it reflects localized strength rather than a coast-wide boom.

Fluke in the South Shore bays and Peconics at this point in the season is seasonally normal. Keeper fish in late June is achievable, and the "chewing better" language from On The Water suggests the class of fish present has improved from early-season, which is the typical arc as water warms and fish spread into the bays.