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Long Island Sound Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Long Island Sound from the New York shore: a 110-mile estuary of rocky bottom and sand where blackfish, porgies, fluke, black sea bass and striped bass each follow New York's own seasons.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Next tide
High 10:01 PM
Air / High
58 / 61 F
Wind
NE 8 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Long Island Sound is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 61. Tides: high 9:37 AM and 10:01 PM, low 3:25 AM and 3:56 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 64 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:26 AM-11:26 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Tomorrow: Similar at 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

New York requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a New York licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing striped bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DEC before you keep anything. The season dates for New York, read off the agency, are on the New York seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

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

Fri
LOW3:25 AM0.6 ft
HIGH9:37 AM7.1 ft
LOW3:56 PM0.3 ft
HIGH10:01 PM6.9 ft
Sat
LOW4:07 AM0.4 ft
HIGH10:18 AM7.5 ft
LOW4:41 PM-0.0 ft
HIGH10:44 PM7.0 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp58 F
High / Low61 / 51 F
WindNE 8-12 mph
Pressure1027.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:12 / 17:59
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~64 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Long Island Sound this week

The best day on Long Island Sound this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 1 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Slow

Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Solunar majors
9:26 AM-11:26 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM
Minor period
3:47 AM-4:47 AM
Sun
07:12 to 17:59
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 27 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

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 inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

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
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 64 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~64 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, Oct 22

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 29 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 29 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 30 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 63 F, wind to 30 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

1/5 Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 65 F, wind to 28 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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

New York: Recreational Marine Fishing Registry (free, 16 and older). Tautog (Long Island Sound Region) 16 in., 2 fish April 1-30 and 3 fish October 11-December 9; fluke 19 in. (19.5 in. from August 2), 3 fish, May 4-October 15; scup and black sea bass as above; striped bass 1 fish, 28-31 in., April 15-December 15 (DEC, changed May 12, 2026). Connecticut waters follow Connecticut DEEP rules.

Access

Find New York launches and shore sites on DEC's Marine Boat Ramp and Fishing Access Interactive Map.

About this water

The New York side of Long Island Sound, Suffolk County. Tide times on this page come from NOAA station 8514594, Port Jefferson Harbor entrance.

Fishing Long Island Sound: the full guide

An estuary open at both ends

Connecticut Sea Grant's guide to the Sound gives it 110 miles from the East River to The Race, 21 miles across at its widest near the mouth of the Connecticut River, an average depth of 63 feet and an area of 1,300 square miles. It is unusual among estuaries in running east to west with an opening to the sea at each end. Nearly nine million people live in its watershed, and Congress's National Estuary Program named it an Estuary of National Significance in 1987.

Fish of the rocks and the bottom

The same guide places blackfish (tautog), scup and cunner on the Sound's subtidal rocky bottom and around pilings and piers; blackfish live there all year and move into deeper rocky crevices in the cold months. State survey data cited by Sea Grant show winter flounder declining while scup, weakfish, black sea bass and summer flounder have become more common.

New York's 2026 seasons

DEC's saltwater limits, last changed May 12, 2026, treat the Sound as its own tautog region, from the Throgs Neck Bridge east to a line from Orient Point to Watch Hill: 16-inch minimum, 2 fish in April and 3 from October 11 to December 9. Fluke need 19 inches from May 4 to August 1 and 19.5 inches from August 2 to October 15, 3 a day. Scup run May 1 to December 31 with a limit of 30 (9.5 inches from shore, 11 from a boat), and black sea bass need 16 inches, with 3 a day to August 31 and 6 from September 1 to December 31.

Striped bass and the license question

Striped bass in New York's marine waters are limited to one fish in a 28- to 31-inch slot from April 15 to December 15, and inline circle hooks are required when fishing with bait. Anglers 16 and older must enroll in New York's free Recreational Marine Fishing Registry. Connecticut DEEP says that under its reciprocity agreement with New York, anglers holding a valid marine fishing license from one of the partner states may fish Connecticut's marine district, but Connecticut residents always need a Connecticut license.

Common questions

When is blackfish season on the New York side of the Sound?

In 2026, April 1 to 30 (2 fish) and October 11 to December 9 (3 fish), with a 16-inch minimum, in DEC's Long Island Sound Region.

Do I need a license to fish Long Island Sound from New York?

New York has no saltwater license, but anglers 16 and older must enroll in the free Recreational Marine Fishing Registry. Connecticut residents fishing Connecticut waters need a Connecticut marine license.

What is the striped bass rule in New York waters?

One fish a day between 28 and 31 inches from April 15 to December 15, with inline circle hooks when using bait.

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: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Saugatuck Reservoir19 miLake Zoar27 miFire Island30 miLake Lillinonah31 miCandlewood Lake34 miNaugatuck River44 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8514594 β€” Port Jefferson Harbor
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.0500, -73.1000 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.