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Long Island Sound Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The urban sea: stripers on every reef between two shorelines, blackfish holes with zip codes and porgy summers for eight million neighbors.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 12:15 AM
Air / High
75 / 75 F
Wind
W 6 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8514594, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Long Island Sound offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 75. Tides: high 5:09 AM and 5:31 PM, low 11:16 AM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 72 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

BluefishExcellent

Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

Striped bassGood

Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Tomorrow: Similar at 74 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8514594 (Port Jefferson Harbor). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH5:09 AM6.3 ft
LOW11:16 AM1.0 ft
HIGH5:31 PM7.2 ft
Sat
LOW12:15 AM0.8 ft
HIGH6:15 AM6.1 ft
LOW12:24 PM1.1 ft
HIGH6:40 PM7.1 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp75 F
High / Low75 / 73 F
WindW 6-15 mph
Pressure1009.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 62%
Sunrise / Sunset06:22 / 19:20
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~72 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Rain, 75/73 F, wind 15 mph, rain 62%

Fair or better. Cloud and a rain chance can stretch the morning bite well past breakfast: keep moving baits tied on.

Species guide

The species that matter on Long Island Sound: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Best: Sep-Oct blitzes

The ocean's most honest fish: when blues blitz bait on the beach, everything with hooks gets bit. Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

When to come: the Long Island Sound calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
Bluefish
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 72 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~72 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Long Island Sound today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Bluefish led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 18 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Bluefish led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 25 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

New York requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

NY registry or CT license by water/launch: check border rules. Tog/fluke/porgy: state seasons differ NY vs CT: verify both.

Access

Port Jefferson, Huntington, Northport ramps (NY); Norwalk, Bridgeport, New Haven (CT); piers throughout.

About this water

The 110-mile urban sea, NY/CT. Reefs, rips and eight million neighbors.

Fishing Long Island Sound: the full guide

The sound's standing

Long Island Sound runs 110 miles between New York and Connecticut: a protected sea of boulder reefs, tide rips and harbor mouths serving the most anglers per acre in America. Stripers headline (spring and fall runs both shores), but the sound's soul is its rotation: blackfish (tog) on the rockpiles, porgies on every reef, fluke in the channels, albies at the east end each fall.

Reef-and-rip doctrine

Structure rules: the boulder reefs (Stratford Shoal, the Norwalk Islands, Port Jeff's rips) hold bass on every moving tide: three-way rigs with eels, diamond jigs in the rips, live bunker when the schools show. The bridges and harbor lights run the night shift: school bass all season with teen-class fish mixed in.

The bottom calendar

April: tog opener on the shallow rocks. Summer: porgy armadas (the sound's happiest fishery: scup to 3 pounds on every piece), fluke drifting the channels, sea bass on the deeper wrecks. October: tog again, deeper and bigger: the sound's blackfish culture (green crabs, tide windows, inches-off-bottom precision) is a regional religion.

Two-state waters

Licenses follow your launch state generally (NY registry or CT license: check the line rules): party boats run from every port (Port Jeff, Captree's fleet around the corner, CT's Waterford boats): and the sound forgives small boats better than the ocean: but wind-against-tide in the rips still demands respect. Access is the urban gift: every harbor has a ramp, every town a pier.

Common questions

What is the best fishery on Long Island Sound?

Stripers by fame, blackfish by culture, porgies by joy: the sound's gift is the rotation: something is always biting within a short run.

Do I need NY or CT license on the sound?

Follow your launch and the mid-sound line: NY's free registry or CT's license. Party boats cover their passengers: the simplest answer for visitors.

Is fishing good at Long Island Sound right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Saugatuck Reservoir19 miFire Island30 miCandlewood Lake34 miNaugatuck River44 miHousatonic River46 miLake Waramaug46 mi
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