Montauk Bass Bite Cools as Fluke and Bluefin Heat Up

What's biting

What's next

If the trend On The Water flagged in its July 9 report holds, look for the Montauk striper bite to keep easing over the next several days as fish settle into deeper, cooler water typical of mid-July heat. That doesn't mean bass go quiet, it usually means the bite shifts later in the day and further out, favoring anglers working live eels and bunker after dark rather than daytime blitzes. Big-bait, big-fish tactics (live bunker, eels, glidebaits, and oversized soft plastics) noted in On The Water's recent surf and kayak coverage should keep producing trophy-class fish even as overall pressure eases.

Fluke is the more promising short-term story. Both the July 2 and July 9 On The Water reports describe fluke action steadily improving, with keepers showing up in better numbers on South Shore reefs, in the bays, and into Long Island Sound. That kind of week-over-week improvement usually keeps building through mid-summer as fish settle onto structure, so anglers working three-way bucktail rigs and Gulp trailers over the reefs (per OTW's rigging breakdowns) should see the bite hold or improve into the coming weekend.

Offshore, the picture is unambiguous: midshore bluefin tuna fishing was "on fire" as of July 2, and OTW Saltwater's July 8 Northeast Offshore Report confirms tuna action remains strong from Maryland up into New England, with canyon water continuing to move fish through the area. That's a good sign for boats planning canyon runs this week, though anglers should note the Southern New England trophy bluefin fishery (73-inch CFL and up) closed as of July 3, so plan around current size and retention rules before targeting bigger fish.

With a waning crescent moon this week, tides will be building toward moderate range, not the extremes of a full or new moon, which typically means a more predictable, less current-driven bite window for bottom species like fluke and black sea bass. No local buoy or gauge readings were available for this report, so check a current local marine forecast for wind and sea-state before planning a Montauk run or a canyon trip.

Context

No buoy or gauge data was available to compare this week's readings against typical July norms for Long Island and Montauk, so this context leans on the angler-intel trend lines rather than hard numbers. A slowing Montauk striper bite in mid-July is a familiar seasonal pattern, bass typically push to deeper, cooler water as summer heat sets in, and On The Water's own reporting shows that shift already underway between the July 2 and July 9 updates, which reads as on-schedule rather than early or late.

The bigger-picture note worth flagging: OTW Surfcasting's recent piece on "Memories and Miracles" raises ongoing concern in the surfcasting community over weak striped bass spawning success in recent years, a backdrop that has shaped cautious, catch-and-release-minded coverage across striper content this season (live eel and glidebait technique pieces, circle-hook recommendations) even as the current bite stays productive.

Regionally, Saltwater Edge Blog's Rhode Island forecasts described striper fishing as "fantastic" through much of June thanks to cooler-than-typical water, which is broadly consistent with a strong striper season across southern New England waters before the seasonal push toward deeper water that On The Water is now describing off Montauk. Fluke's steady week-over-week improvement and hot midshore bluefin action both track as normal mid-summer form for this region. Beyond that, this report doesn't have enough historical or year-over-year data to say definitively whether 2026 is running ahead of or behind a typical season.