Montauk bass ease off as fluke and tuna fill in around Long Island

What's biting

What's next

If the pattern holds, expect the Montauk striped bass bite to keep softening at the Point itself over the next few days while redistributing rather than disappearing. The Fisherman — Long Island East End reports have bass spreading west toward Southwest Ledge, and Long Island Sound North Shore shops (Hi-Hook Bait and Tackle, Campsite Sport Shop) are already holding slot fish around Eaton's Neck, the Triangle, and buoy 15 on trolled bunker spoons and umbrella rigs — that Sound-side bite should stay the more reliable bass option through the weekend as the ocean-side action thins.

Fluke should keep building. Multiple South Shore and West End sources describe the season as just now "kicking" (Chasing Tails Bait & Tackle) or steadily improving (Dick's B&T, Sea Rogue Charters, Super Hawk), which typically means better keeper ratios over the next week or two as more fish settle onto summer structure. Watch the bridges, inlets, and beach structure the Long Island Surf reports call out — Ponquogue Bridge and Mattituck Inlet both saw early activity this week.

Offshore, the yellowfin bite around West Atlantis and the canyons looks positioned to keep improving into the weekend based on the volume of East End charter reports (Marlena's Yacht Club, Star Island Yacht Club, Montauk Anglers Club all logging tuna in the same window) — worth planning a midshore run around calm-weather windows if boats keep connecting at this pace. Note the Southern New England trophy bluefin fishery (73"+ CFL) closed July 3, so any bluefin plans should stay within current recreational limits.

With the moon in a waning crescent phase heading toward new moon, expect tidal current to strengthen into next week — a favorable setup for the inlet and rip-line bass and bluefish bite the Long Island Surf shops are already working (Shinnecock, Moriches, Southampton ocean beaches). Porgy fishing should stay a dependable steady producer regardless of the bass/fluke swings — it's been consistent across nearly every regional report this week, from Cedar Beach to the North Fork to the East End's Pocketbook grounds. Anglers chasing bass specifically may want to prioritize early-morning and after-dark windows, which is where the strongest reports are clustering.

Context

Early-to-mid July on Long Island typically marks the seasonal handoff point where the spring striped bass push gives way to a mixed summer bite of fluke, porgy, sea bass, and building offshore tuna action — this week's reports track that pattern closely, with On The Water — New York / Long Island explicitly flagging the Montauk bass bite as beginning to slow while fluke numbers improve, right on the calendar cue for this time of year. NY DEC's Saltwater Fishing and Boating newsletters mark the regulatory backdrop for the season: striped bass, scup, and summer flounder seasons are already open, with a recreational bluefish regulation change also in effect, so the current mixed-bag action lines up with a fully open summer season rather than any early or late shift.

The offshore tuna bite stands out as stronger than a typical early-July baseline — multiple East End sources are already reporting yellowfin to 90 pounds and bigeye/swordfish mixed in at West Atlantis, which On The Water's July 2 report characterized as "on fire." That's a notably active start to the canyon season. The one regulatory wrinkle worth flagging for offshore anglers is the July 3 closure of the Southern New England trophy bluefin fishery (73"+ CFL), which trims the upper end of what's legally targetable even as smaller-class tuna action heats up. Beyond that, there's no direct buoy or gauge data this cycle to compare water temperatures against a historical baseline.