East End Fishing Report: July 17, 2026 — Heat Breaks, Bass Hold, Grand Slam Weekend at Uihlein's

The Quick Read

The heat wave that had the whole East End sweating finally broke midweek, and cooler, wetter air moved in behind it. Good news for anglers who'd been ducking the midday furnace — the water's still stacked with bait, and the fishing has stayed honest right through it.

Inshore it's the usual summer spread: striped bass and bluefish at Montauk, porgy chewing on the bottom, and fluke and sea bass filling in for the sinker-bouncers. Offshore, the tuna grounds are lighting up.

Montauk & the Rips

Bass remain the headline out east. The daytime crowd has been working diamond jigs and bucktails through the rips, while the after-dark game continues to produce the biggest fish — some in the 30-to-40-pound class for those willing to lose sleep for them. The Race and Plum Gut have kept up a steady mix of bass and blues; three-way bucktail rigs and diamond jigs are the money moves when the tide's running.

Bluefish have been around too, generally holding closer to the bottom while stripers work the surface. Porgy fishing has been solid, and fluke and sea bass are a workable pick for anyone bouncing sinkers on the drift.

Bait's Everywhere

There's a serious body of squid and sand eels parked in the nearby ocean water, and that buffet is a big part of why the fishing has held up. It's also feeding a jaw-dropping show of whales and dolphins offshore — finbacks, humpbacks, and pods of dolphin have been thick out there. Where there's that much bait, the fish aren't far behind.

Offshore

Bluefin are the talk of the tuna fleet right now, with yellowfin and bigeye action heating up as well. It's canyon season and the boats are running hard — expect the offshore chatter to stay loud into the weekend.

Grand Slam Weekend

The 26th annual Montauk Grand Slam charity tournament runs this weekend out of Uihlein's Marina on West Lake Drive, hosted by the Kiwanis Club of East Hampton and the Montauk Friends of Erin. Commercial, recreational, and party boats will be chasing the biggest bluefish, porgy, sea bass, and fluke. There's also the Wayne Clinch Memorial Kids Catch program, putting rods, reels, and tackle boxes in the hands of ten young anglers.

On Sunday at 5 p.m., the tournament crowns Capt. Tom Herlihy — the longtime skipper of the charter boat Herl's Girl out of Star Island Marina — as Fishing Legend of the Year. Herlihy's been a fixture on the Montauk water for the better part of six decades, cutting his teeth as a mate on his uncle Capt. Dave McMahon's Marie II before running his own boat from 1985 until he semi-retired in 2018. Fellow captain Richard Etzel called him "the best striped bass fisherman, bar none." These days he's still pinhooking bass on a new Downeast Herl's Girl tied up at Cove Marina. Well earned, Cap.

Tactics & Conditions

• Cooler, rainier air behind the heat wave — a relief for daytime fishing.
• Diamond jigs and bucktails in the Montauk rips by day; live/plug the bays after dark for the biggest bass.
• Three-way rigs and diamond jigs in the Race and Plum Gut on moving water.
• Sand eels and squid are the dominant forage — match the hatch.
• Slot on bass is one fish, 28 to 31 inches; plenty of over-slot fish getting released, so handle them right and let them swim.

Get out there while the bait's thick and the heat's off. Tight lines.