East End Fishing Report: October 2, 2026 — Nor'easter Blows Out, Fall Run Blows In
The Rundown
That long-period northeast blow finally packed up and left Tuesday, and not a moment too soon. It kept us off the beaches and off the boats for better than a week — seas ran up near 25 feet offshore and even the draggers stayed tied up. The upside: a stretch of sunny, warmer weather is on deck, and a storm like that tends to flip the switch and shove everything into full-on fall mode. Bait's thick, water's cleaning up, and the pieces are falling into place for a real October surf bite.
Surf & Bays — Bass, Blues, and Speedsters
The fall players are showing. Better striped bass are starting to trickle back along the eastern beaches, and some of the larger fish have been poking into the bays and harbors. Nothing red-hot yet, but it's building — if you spot birds working and bait getting crushed, the fish are under it.
Bluefish are the sure thing right now. They're roaming the ocean wash and stacked thick from Montauk clear up to Bostwick Point at the north end of Gardiner's Island. Snappers have grown to a respectable size in the creeks and coves, and the bait situation is loaded — peanut bunker, sand eels, white bait, and mackerel all in the mix.
The false albacore have arrived and are scattered about. They first showed in the Accabonac area and there've been reports from around Block Island too. Light-tackle crews are dialed in — Capt. David Blinken of North Flats Guiding out of East Hampton has been gearing up for the albie run, and it's prime time to be chasing them when the wind lies down.
Bottom Fishing — Porgies Hold, Tog on the Clock
Bottom action out east stayed productive right through the weather. Porgy fishing is still good in the bays, and sea bass are schooling up ahead of their move offshore — the bigger knotheads have been coming off the north side of Plum Island. A few fluke are still being picked around the Louse Point area, though most of them are already headed for deeper winter water.
The big countdown is for blackfish. The season opens Oct. 11 in Long Island Sound (three-fish limit) and Oct. 15 in the rest of New York waters (four fish), with a 16-inch minimum across the board. Togging should start strong. Stock up on green crabs now — Tight Lines in Sag Harbor has plenty on hand.
A few straggler weakfish and blowfish are still hanging to the west in the Peconics, but the blustery stuff is pushing them out the door.
Offshore — Canyon Money
When the weather gave a window, the offshore grind delivered. The Viking Star out of Montauk came back from a 60-hour run with a load of yellowfin to 80 pounds — fish came trolling, chunking, jigging, and on surface poppers — plus a pile of mahi and four swordfish. That's a trip worth bragging about.
Closer in, mahi have been running unusually tight to the beach this season, with catches at the windmills southeast of Block Island and within sight of the Montauk Light. Bonito, scarce the last few years, have been showing up regularly too.
Tournament Time
The Fred Golofaro Memorial Montauk Classic Bluefish and Striped Bass Surf Fishing Tournament kicks off at noon on Oct. 2 and runs to noon Oct. 4. Fish must be landed on foot from the beach, jetty, or bank starting at the west end of Napeague State Park and east from there. Hither Hills is the weigh-in and photo-verification station, and the bass category is catch-photo-release this year — prizes for the three longest released stripers and the three heaviest blues. Good excuse to be standing in the wash at first light.
Odds & Ends
Heads up at the fuel dock: diesel has spiked hard — north of $8 a gallon at some local clubs — and the word is it keeps climbing. Don't be surprised if party and charter boats start tacking on a fuel surcharge.
On the bay scallop front, brace yourself: early scouting points to another thin season when state waters open Nov. 2, the seventh lean year in a row thanks to summer die-offs across the Peconic system. Plenty of empty 'cluckers' turned up in Northwest Harbor. There's some hope pinned on parasite-resistant stock being introduced to the west, but for now it's slim pickings.
One more note for the bunker crowd: researchers studying menhaden around Long Island — Montauk Point included — are looking for anglers who regularly catch bunker to donate a handful of scales and basic measurements for an age-and-growth study. If you're into bunker out at the Point and want to help the science, it's worth reaching out.