East End Fishing Report: September 4, 2026 — Albies Show, Porgies Pile Up, Fall Turns the Page
The Turn Is On
Labor Day flips the switch out here, and the water knows it. The big story: false albacore have shown up around the Accabonac area, right about on schedule. For the light-tackle crowd, that's your cue — these speed demons are the best catch-and-release game we've got, and if the weather plays nice they should hang into late October. Keep your metals and small epoxies handy and watch for bait getting shredded on top.
Bonito have also been landed with some regularity lately, which is a welcome sight after a few lean years for them. Between albies and bonito, the fall run is knocking.
Porgies: As Good As It Gets
If you want a bent rod and dinner in an hour, the porgy bite is the play. The Peconics finally lit up after a dismal spring, and there are real slabs mixed in — fish pushing three pounds. Cedar Point and the Cedar Island Lighthouse have been paved with them; drop a hi-lo baited with sliced skimmer clams and hold on. Montauk is chockablock too, with full limits the norm around the Lighthouse and along the south side.
Capt. Hugh Chancey of Chancey Charters put his fares on a pile of jumbo porgies up to three pounds out of Montauk — his words: "now is the time because it's as good as it gets."
Fluke and Bottom Fishing
Fluke action has picked up on the ocean side, with the Napeague stretch and the ocean beaches producing. You'll still weed through shorts to find keepers on some days, so keep drifting and cover ground. Sea bass are filling out the bottom bags nicely alongside the fluke and porgies.
Capt. Rob Aaronson's Oh Brother! out of Montauk had a banner day recently, with the crew all but limiting on sea bass, porgy, and fluke — "the fish didn't have a chance."
Snappers, Blues, and the Back Bays
The snappers are in — baby bluefish around four to five inches are chasing spearing in the back bays and coves, with cocktail blues in the mix. Gerard Drive has been a consistent spot for shore casters. It's the perfect time to hand a kid a light rod and a bobber.
Blowfish are showing up with more consistency, and blue-claw crabbing has finally turned the corner in the creeks and coves after a spotty summer. Few things beat blue-claws for dinner.
Bluefin and Offshore
Inshore bluefin remain red hot off Montauk, and the fish have been showing as close as three miles from the beach at times. Diamond jigs and trolling spreader bars are the ticket. Capt. Tom Cusimano's Sea Wife IV went three-for-five on bluefins on a recent trip.
Farther out, the canyons have been the standout — solid yellowfin with some bigeyes and giant bluefin in the mix, per Jeff Ragovin of Bounty Uncharted out of Montauk. He's also reporting massive schools of sand eels on the mid-shore grounds pulling in whales, dolphins, and plenty of mako and brown sharks — a whole lot of life out there right now.
A pleasant surprise closer to home: mahi-mahi have come in unusually close this season, with catches at the windmills southeast of Block Island and even within sight of the Montauk Lighthouse. They'll linger a few more weeks.
Stripers Still Napping
Don't expect much from the striped bass just yet — they're in their summer slumber and have been scarce in the warm water. That'll change as the fall run gets rolling and the bait pours out of the bays, so stay ready.
Tournament Notes
The Montauk Boatmen and Captains Association wrapped its second annual Bluefin/Fluke Blowout with nearly 30 boats. In the fluke division, Capt. Paul Giangreco's Fisherman II edged out Capt. Frank Shea's Infinsible, with Capt. Frank Mayer's Bad Daddy taking third; Giangreco also had the biggest flatfish at 7.8 pounds. In the bluefin category, Capt. Sean McSwiggan's Lady Grace topped the field ahead of Capt. Ben McCarron's Push the Limit and Capt. Mike Larson's Trophy Hunter, with McSwiggan's 86.9-pound bluefin taking top honors.