Long Island’s Oct. 1 report: bass woke up after the nor’easter, albies did not

The weeklong nor’easter scattered Long Island’s false albacore and turned the bass on. On The Water’s Oct. 1, 2026 Long Island and NYC report, by Jack Larizadeh, says albies have been missing since the storm. Micro bonito have largely taken their place at Montauk. Striped bass are the fish that showed up.

Mark at Cow Harbor Bait and Tackle in Northport said night surfcasting produced fish to 40–45 inches once the wind quit, with squid and spearing back and bonito still around. Bill Falco at Chasing Tails in Oakdale reported stripers packed into the inlets and flooding the bays, plus fluke of 6 to 8 pounds leaving the South Shore bays as that season winds down. He and Vinny Cagnina had a night tide of bass to 15 pounds inside the bay. Captain Scott Worth of North Fork Light Tackle said the pre-storm albie bite has not reset, but bass have more than made up for it, blowing up on large bait in some spots and rolling on small bait in others.

Captain Kenny of the Angler Fleet was still finding fluke, with triggerfish reported in Hempstead Harbor and porgies scarce. Blackfish season, Larizadeh writes, opens Oct. 11, with early fish often shallow on rocky bottom and dock pilings in 6 to 10 feet. Capt. Pete Douma in Montauk said the dock time from seven days of northeast wind left albies slow and bass just starting to fill back in.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: On The Water — Long Island and NYC Fishing Report, October 1, 2026 (Jack Larizadeh, Oct. 1, 2026).