East End Fishing Report: August 18, 2026 — Porgy-Palooza, Fickle Bluefin, and Sleepy Stripers
The Short Version
Full summer mode out here. The water's warm, the porgy bite is downright silly, and fluke are around in numbers if you're willing to weed through the shorts. Striped bass have slid into their August slumber, and the offshore bluefin scene is a coin flip depending on the day. Bring patience, skip the bananas.
Porgies Are the Story
If you want a bent rod and a cooler full of dinner, this is your fish right now. The scup finally flooded the Peconics after a lousy spring, and it's about as good as it gets — quality fish pushing three pounds mixed in with the schoolies. The bottom around the Cedar Point / Cedar Island Lighthouse area has been paved with them; double-headers are the norm and you don't need to run far or even anchor up. Skimmer clams on a hi-lo rig is all it takes.
Montauk is loaded too. Full limits are common around the Lighthouse and along the south side. Capt. Hugh Chancey of Chancey Charters put his crew on a pile of jumbo porgies up to three pounds — his words: "if you like porgies, now is the time." Remember the limits: 30 fish over 11 inches from a private boat, 9.5-inch minimum from shore.
Fluke: Grind Through the Shorts
The doormat hunt takes patience. There are plenty of fish around Cedar Point and out at Montauk, but keepers have been a challenge with a lot of throwbacks to sift through. The Block Island grounds have been putting up serious numbers — Capt. Anthony D'Arrigo of the Ebb Tide Princess called a recent run "arguably the best fluke fishing I've seen" for sheer quantity, averaging 30 to 35 fish a head, though 16- to 18-inchers dominated the box. Nice sea bass came over the rail on the same trips.
Heads up on regs: the fluke minimum bumped to 19.5 inches on August 1, so measure carefully. Bag stays at three fish.
Sea Bass Along for the Ride
The black sea bass are thick and cooperative on the bottom. Capt. Rob Aaronson's Oh Brother! out of Montauk basically limited a charter out on a mixed bag of sea bass, porgy, and fluke — "the fish didn't have a chance," as he put it. Same boat put a visiting group on a solid bottom-fishing day, biggest sea bass and heaviest fluke and all.
Stripers and Blues: Inside the Harbors
Don't expect much from the bass out front — they've gone quiet in the summer heat and have been scarce. The action's inside: small striped bass and bluefish are running well inside Three Mile Harbor and along Sammy's Beach. There are bluefish and hickory shad in the wash too, and clam bait fished off the ocean sand will still pick at bass for the surf crowd.
Offshore & Mid-Shore: Boom or Bust
Bluefin have been hit or miss but worth the effort when it clicks — cranking diamond jigs and trolling spreader bars remain the go-to. Capt. Tom Cusimano's Sea Wife IV went three-for-five on bluefin on a recent Sunday. Fish have shown as close as three miles off the beach, and giant bluefin have started making appearances on the mid-shore grounds.
The real fireworks are at the canyons: excellent yellowfin, with bigeye and bluefin mixed in when the weather windows line up for the long run. Jeff Ragovin of Bounty Uncharted out of Montauk reports the mid-shore is just heating up, with massive schools of sand eels stacking the water column and drawing finback, minke, and humpback whales plus big pods of dolphins. "It feels less like a fishing trip and more like filming an episode of National Geographic," he said.
Sharks Are Everywhere
Mako and brown sharks are all over the mid-shore, and inshore anglers are paying the tax — a mako was filmed cleanly chopping a bass in half boatside, and a hefty dusky ate an angler's sea bass right at the rail. Comes with the territory in August. Land your fish quick and keep an eye on the water.
Bottom Line
Porgies are the sure thing — go get 'em around Cedar Point or Montauk. Fluke and sea bass will fill out the box if you put in the drifts. Leave the striper expectations at the dock unless you're picking inside the harbors, and if you've got the fuel and the weather, the tuna are out there for those willing to chase them.