East End Fishing Report: August 7, 2026 — Porgy-Palooza, Doormat Fluke Offshore, and Sharks Working the Rips

The Short Version

Summer mode, locked in. The porgy bite is the story of the week — arguably the best scup fishing the East End has seen in years. Fluke are around in numbers, though you're weeding through shorts to find keepers. Striped bass have slowed on the whole but there's plenty of school-sized action inside. And offshore, the tuna and shark scene is lit up.

Porgies — It's As Good As It Gets

If you want a cooler full of fillets right now, drop on the scup. The Gardiners Bay grounds around the Cedar Point / Cedar Island Lighthouse area are absolutely paved with them, and the size is legit — fish pushing two to three pounds are common in the mix. You don't even need to anchor and chum in the right spots; find the marks, drop a hi-lo rig tipped with skimmer clam, and it's lock-and-load with double-headers. After a miserable spring showing, the porgies have finally flooded in en masse.

Montauk is just as loaded. Capt. Hugh Chancey of Chancey Charters has been putting his fares on piles of jumbo porgies to three pounds — full limits are the norm for a lot of boats right now. Reminder on the rules: 30 fish over 11 inches from a private boat, 9.5-inch minimum from shore.

Fluke — Quantity Over Quality Inshore, Doormats Out Deep

The flatfish bite has improved, especially at Montauk and toward Block Island. Expect solid numbers — trips have been seeing 30 to 35 fish a head — but the fleet skews small, with 16- to 18-inchers dominating. Better to sort through fluke than through sea robins and tiny sea bass, and there have been some nice sea bass mixed in as bycatch. Closer to home, keeper fluke can be picked around Cedar Point, though it's a grind for legal fish.

Heads up on the regs: as of August 1 the fluke minimum bumped up to 19.5 inches, three fish per angler. If you're chasing a true doormat, the play is running deeper, distant water — that's the recipe headboats like the Miss Montauk II lean on, fishing the far grounds where the big flatfish live with less pressure. Beef up the bait and the hardware: long strip baits, a 7/0 or 8/0 hook, and keep your rig vertical and tap-dancing along structure.

Bass & Blues — Inside the Harbors

Trophy bass fishing has cooled off, but the inshore scene is fun and family-friendly. Small bluefish and striped bass are running well inside Three Mile Harbor and along Sammy's Beach. Out front, surfcasters are soaking clam baits for bass in the ocean wash, and there are bluefish and hickory shad working the suds too. Light-tackle stuff, but plenty of bend in the rod.

Sharks Are Everywhere

The tax man is out in force. Montauk anglers are once again losing fish at the boat — Capt. Tom Cusimano on the Sea Wife IV watched a mako cleanly chop a striper in half right before the net, and the Ebb Tide Princess had a sea bass turned into an appetizer by a roughly 250-pound dusky. Makos and brown sharks feel like they're everywhere right now, following the bait inshore. It's a fish-eat-fish world — crank hot fish up quick or expect to reel in a head.

Offshore & Mid-Shore — Tuna Time

The canyons have been the standout, kicking out excellent yellowfin along with quality bigeye and bluefin when the weather windows open up. Long runs, but worth it — there's life everywhere out there. Jeff Ragovin of Montauk's Bounty Uncharted reports the mid-shore grounds are just starting to heat up, with giant bluefin beginning to show and recreational-sized fish popping up sporadically in the usual haunts. Some bluefin have come on jigs as close as three miles from shore.

The bigger picture out there is the bait: massive schools of sand eels and squid have stacked up the water column, drawing finback, minke, and humpback whales along with big pods of dolphins. Some days it's less a fishing trip and more a nature documentary.

On the Board

The Montauk Boatmen and Captains Association's Bluefin Tuna/Fluke Blowout runs through August 9, with weigh-ins at Westlake Marina and the Montauk Anglers Club. Get after it while there's still time on the clock.