Long Island Sound Fishing Guides
The tidal estuary between the New York mainland and Long Island's north shore, gauged at Rye, and one of the most heavily guided striped bass and bluefish fisheries on the Atlantic coast.
Guides on the Long Island Sound
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About the Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a true estuary rather than open ocean: it is a long, semi-enclosed tidal basin fed by the Connecticut, Housatonic and Thames rivers at its eastern end and connected to New York Harbor through the East River at its western end, and the gauge at Rye sits in the narrow western basin where the tidal range is greatest. That geometry is what makes the fishing. Water forced through the western end moves hard on every tide, and the reefs, points and river mouths along both shores concentrate bait in predictable places. For anglers in the New York and southern Connecticut metropolitan area, the Sound is the home saltwater fishery, and the guide fleet working it is one of the largest anywhere on the coast.
Striped bass are the fish the Sound is known for, moving through on spring and autumn migrations and holding through the summer around the reefs and the rocky shoreline structure. Bluefish arrive in numbers behind them and provide the most violent surface fishing of the year. Summer flounder work the sand flats and the channel edges, winter flounder the muddy bays in the cold months, and scup and black sea bass stack on any hard structure through the warmer half of the year. Tautog are a dedicated autumn fishery on the rock and the wrecks, and false albacore show in late summer when the bait is right.
The gauge at Rye reports water surface elevation rather than temperature or discharge, which on a tidal estuary is exactly the number worth having: it gives you the actual tide stage and range rather than a predicted one, and in the western Sound a wind-driven setup or setdown can shift the real water level well away from the published tide table. Moving water is the whole game here, so the hour either side of maximum current is the time to be on a reef.
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Access
Rye - the gauge town on the Westchester shore, with the nearest public shoreline and boating access.
Mamaroneck Harbor - the principal western Sound launch and charter base.
New Rochelle - a sheltered harbour with ramps and marinas, convenient to the western reefs.
Execution Rocks - the landmark reef complex offshore of the gauge, classic striped bass structure.
City Island - the Bronx charter and marina hub at the East River end of the Sound.
Hempstead Harbor - the Long Island north-shore access directly across the Sound.
Greenwich - the nearest Connecticut shoreline base, useful when wind favours the north side.
Seasons
Spring: striped bass push into the western Sound on the migration and winter flounder are still catchable in the bays.
Summer: the broadest fishing of the year, with bluefish, flounder, scup and sea bass all available and bass on the reefs.
Fall: the best season, as bass and bluefish feed hard on the way out and tautog come onto the rock.
Winter: largely over, with only a short cold-water flounder and tautog window before the fishery closes down.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Long Island Sound?
Anglers target Black Sea Bass, Bluefish, False Albacore, Scup, Striped Bass, Summer Flounder, Tautog, Winter Flounder on the Long Island Sound in New York.
Where can you access the Long Island Sound?
Rye - the gauge town on the Westchester shore, with the nearest public shoreline and boating access. Mamaroneck Harbor - the principal western Sound launch and charter base. New Rochelle - a sheltered harbour with ramps and marinas, convenient to the western reefs. Execution Rocks - the landmark reef complex offshore of the gauge, classic striped bass structure. City Island - the Bronx charter and marina hub at the East River end of the Sound. Hempstead Harbor - the Long Island north-shore access directly across the Sound. Greenwich - the nearest Connecticut shoreline base, useful when wind fa...
When is the best time to fish the Long Island Sound?
Spring: striped bass push into the western Sound on the migration and winter flounder are still catchable in the bays. Summer: the broadest fishing of the year, with bluefish, flounder, scup and sea bass all available and bass on the reefs. Fall: the best season, as bass and bluefish feed hard on the way out and tautog come onto the rock. Winter: largely over, with only a short cold-water flounder and tautog window before the fishery closes down.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Long Island Sound?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the New York agency site: https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/saltwater-fishing/regulations