Montauk Point fishing conditions and tides
New York · Atlantic coast · 2.6 ft mean tide range · 32 ppt
The rips at the end of Long Island and the most famous fall run in the Northeast
Current conditions
Excellent
Fishing score 89/100
How this score is calculated
56°F against a 54–70°F band for striped bass.
Incoming (flood) at 0.6 ft, moving 0.4 ft/hr. Strong water movement is positioning bait on structure.
19 mph out of the NW. Workable wind with useful chop.
3.1 ft at 9 seconds. Good working surf for beaches and inlets.
Good working clarity with some colour for cover.
29.74 inHg and falling.
56% illumination — neap tides with a smaller exchange.
Fall pattern is fully established for this zone.
What should I do today?
The highest-percentage pattern for this tide and this wind.
Backup pattern
False Albacore — small metal jigs on 20 lb fluoro, fast retrieve in 2–25 ft. Blitz along the south side beaches and in the rips from late August into October, feeding on bay anchovies.
Right now
Current conditions
Tide
Incoming (flood)
0.6 ft, +0.4 ft/hr
Next high
7:39 AM
2.4 ft
Next low
1:51 PM
0.2 ft
Mean range
2.6 ft
Typical high-to-low swing
Water temp
56°F
-0.9°F / 3 days
Water clarity
Lightly stained
Salinity about 32 ppt
Swell
3.1 ft
9 second period
Wind
19 mph
Out of the NW
Pressure
29.74"
Falling pressure — a change is moving in
Air temp
49°F
69% cloud cover
Moon
56%
First Quarter · solunar 12/100
Daylight
6:11 AM
Sunset 4:53 PM
Timing
Today's tides and fishing windows
- Low tide (0.4 ft) — tide change window12:26 AM – 2:26 AM
- Solunar major 25:29 AM – 7:29 AM
- Morning prime window5:46 AM – 8:31 AM
- Sunrise6:11 AM
- High tide (2.4 ft) — tide change window6:39 AM – 8:39 AM
- Low tide (0.2 ft) — tide change window12:51 PM – 2:51 PM
- Evening window2:53 PM – 5:28 PM
- Sunset4:53 PM
- Solunar major 15:29 PM – 7:29 PM
- High tide (2.2 ft) — tide change window7:04 PM – 9:04 PM
Targets
Target species in this zone
| Species | Activity | Depth | Best tide | Technique | Bait | Active temp | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Striped Bass | ★★★★★ | 3–40 ft | Last two hours of the ebb through the first of the flood | Bucktail and pork rind in the rip, darters from the rocks at night | Bunker, eels | 54–70°F | May through November |
| False Albacore | ★★★★★ | 2–25 ft | Either direction with clean water | Small metal jigs on 20 lb fluoro, fast retrieve | Bay anchovies | 62–72°F | Late August through October |
| Bluefish | ★★★★☆ | 3–40 ft | Moving water | Poppers and diamond jigs | Bunker | 58–74°F | May through October |
| Blackfish (Tautog) | ★★★★☆ | 20–70 ft | Slack water for anchoring | Jig or bottom rig tight to rock | Green crab, hermit crab | 46–58°F | October through December |
- Striped Bass: Sit in the whitewater behind the boulders at Camp Hero and along the North Bar on the outgoing.
- False Albacore: Blitz along the south side beaches and in the rips from late August into October, feeding on bay anchovies.
- Bluefish: Hold on the outer rips all summer and blitz the beaches at first light.
- Blackfish (Tautog): Boulders and wrecks in 25–60 ft, best after the first cold snap drops the water under 58°F.
Structure
Habitat and structure that holds fish
- Boulder field
- Rip current
- Sand beach
- Offshore wreck
- North Rip
- Southwest Ledge
- Shagwong Reef
- Great Eastern Rock
- Camp Hero boulders
Surf and beach notes
A 2–4 ft northeast swell makes the Point fish; flat calm and bright sun is the worst combination here.
Bait in the zone
Bunker in spring and early summer, bay anchovies and peanut bunker from late August — matching the anchovy size is the whole albie game.
Patterns
Season-by-season patterns
Spring
44–58°FBass show in mid-May along the north side; fish are scattered until the bunker schools arrive.
Summer
62–72°FNight tides on the rocks and deep bucktailing in the rips carry the bite; daytime is slow in flat, bright conditions.
Fall
54–68°FThe run: bass, blues and albies stacked on bait from mid-September to early November, best on a northwest wind after a front.
Winter
40–46°FBlackfish over rock until the season closes; everything else has left.
Outlook
7-day fishing forecast
| Day | Score | Water | Wind | Swell | First high tide | Best species | Morning window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 83Excellent | 56°F | 19 mph NW | 3.1 ft | 7:39 AM (2.4 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:46 AM – 8:31 AM |
| Tue | 82Excellent | 55°F | 4 mph SE | 0.7 ft | 8:29 AM (2.5 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:47 AM – 8:32 AM |
| Wed | 74Very Good | 55°F | 18 mph NW | 3.2 ft | 9:20 AM (2.6 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:48 AM – 8:33 AM |
| Thu | 97Excellent | 58°F | 12 mph NW | 1.4 ft | 10:10 AM (2.7 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:49 AM – 8:34 AM |
| Fri | 86Excellent | 56°F | 15 mph E | 2.4 ft | 11:00 AM (2.8 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:51 AM – 8:36 AM |
| Sat | 96Excellent | 58°F | 14 mph N | 1.6 ft | 11:51 AM (2.9 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:52 AM – 8:37 AM |
| Sun | 89Excellent | 56°F | 22 mph E | 2.8 ft | 12:16 AM (2.9 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:53 AM – 8:38 AM |
Trends
Last 7 days
Water temperature
58°F → 56°F
Wind
10 mph → 19 mph
Swell
0.9 ft → 3.1 ft
Daily score
83 → 83
Water temperature has dropped 2°F this week. Expect fish to slide toward deeper channels and to bite best in the warmest part of the afternoon.
The water
About Montauk Point
Montauk sits where Block Island Sound meets the open Atlantic, and the boulder fields off the Point create standing rips that concentrate bait on every tide. The tide range is modest at under 3 ft but the current through the rips is ferocious, and that current — not the time of day — dictates the bite.
Local knowledge
Expert notes
- In the rips, cast up-current and let the bucktail swing down through the rip line — a cast made down-current spends the whole drift out of the strike zone.
- Albies feeding on bay anchovies will refuse anything over about two inches. Carry a 3/8 oz metal that matches, not the big jig that works on blues.
- The best Montauk nights are dark nights. A bright full moon spreads fish out and pushes the bite to the deeper rips.
Logistics
Access, ramps and launches
boat ramp
Montauk Inlet ramp
Busy public ramp; the inlet gets dangerous on an outgoing tide against an east wind.
shore
Camp Hero rocks
Wetsuit and korkers territory — serious surf casting, not a casual walk-on.
shore
Gin Beach
Easy sand access on the north side, good on the flood.
marina
Montauk Harbor marinas
Full service, fuel, tackle and the charter fleet.
Rules
Regulations
- Free New York Recreational Marine Fishing Registry enrollment required.
- Striped bass slot limit and one-fish bag; circle hooks mandatory with bait.
- Tautog season, size and bag limits vary by month — check before going.
Always verify current regulations with the relevant state wildlife agency before fishing. New York State DEC — Marine Resources
Transparency
Data sources
Where this data comes from
Conditions are modelled from each water's documented climate, structure and seasonal patterns. Modules marked “Live data integration pending” are not yet pulling from their API, so those values are clearly labelled as sample data rather than presented as real-time readings.
Weather API
PendingNOAA / National Weather Service — Air temperature, wind, cloud cover, rainfall and barometric pressure with a 7-day forecast.
Water Level & Flow API
PendingUSGS Water Services — Reservoir stage, discharge and 7-day level trend from the nearest gauge.
Water Temperature
PendingUSGS / NOAA buoys — Surface water temperature and its multi-day trend.
Tide & Current API
PendingNOAA CO-OPS — Tide predictions, current direction and speed for coastal zones.
Moon & Solunar
LiveComputed on-site — Moon phase, illumination and solunar major/minor periods are calculated from date and coordinates.
Water Clarity
PendingSatellite imagery + angler reports — Visibility estimates by lake arm, refined by submitted fishing reports.
Fishing Regulations
PendingState wildlife agencies — License, size and creel rules, linked to the official agency page for verification.
Map Data
PendingBathymetry + access point database — Depth zones, structure locations and boat ramps for the lake infographic.
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