Tautog Fishing in New York

About Tautog Fishing in New York

New York's party boat fleet works one of the most diverse fishing grounds on the East Coast. Long Island juts out into productive Atlantic water, and the inlets along the South Shore put anglers on fish within minutes of leaving the dock. Montauk, at the eastern tip, is one of the most famous fishing towns in the country and anchors the state's offshore fleet. Sheepshead Bay and Captree anchor the closer-in fleets and have been party boat ports for generations. Tautog is one of the targets drawing anglers to the temperate Atlantic and estuarine water along New York's Atlantic and Long Island Sound coast.

In New York, Tautog trips head out from ports along Long Island, the South Shore inlets, Montauk, and the North Fork. Places like Montauk, Captree, Freeport, and Sheepshead Bay anchor the local fleet and put captains on the water where Tautog holds. New York party boat trips are built around migratory fisheries. Spring fluke, summer sea bass and porgies, fall stripers, and late-season blackfish each have their window, and the boats follow the fish through the year. Trip lengths run from short half-days for families to full-day offshore runs, and the fleets are famously tight with the regulars who fish them every week.

For full Tautog biology, size, habitat, and a state-by-state breakdown, see the Tautog fishing guide.