Fishing Charters in New York: Montauk to Lake Ontario

New York runs two completely different charter fisheries. Downstate, Long Island and New York City sit where northern and southern Atlantic species overlap, so a single season can bring striped bass, fluke, porgies, sea bass, blackfish and offshore tuna. Upstate, Lake Ontario is one of the best freshwater salmon and trout fisheries in the country, and the Salmon River at Pulaski fills with kings every fall. Unreel lists more than 240 active New York charters, with the biggest clusters in Montauk, Babylon, Brooklyn, Oswego, Hampton Bays, Freeport and Pulaski.

Regions

Montauk. The eastern tip of Long Island is the state’s charter capital and the largest single port on Unreel in New York. Two styles of boat work side by side here. Party boats (head boats) sell tickets by the person and fish for porgies, sea bass, fluke, blackfish and cod, with night trips for stripers. Private six-pack charters take your group alone, running the rips and rocks around Montauk Point for stripers and bluefish, crossing to Block Island, or heading offshore for tuna. Montauk’s bigger head boats also run multi-day offshore trips for tuna and deep-water bottom fish.

The South Shore (Babylon, Freeport, Hampton Bays). The barrier-beach inlets of Long Island’s south side support a large bay and nearshore fleet. Captree State Park near Babylon is home to a string of half-day party boats aimed at fluke in summer, while Freeport and Hampton Bays add more boats working the bays, inlets and ocean reefs for fluke, sea bass, bluefish and stripers.

Western Long Island Sound. The Sound’s spring season tends to start in the far west and move east. Little Neck Bay, City Island and the Throgs Neck area are early-season striper water, followed by Manhasset Bay, Oyster Bay and Huntington.

New York Harbor and Jamaica Bay. Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay has been a party boat port for generations, with boats rotating through stripers, fluke, porgies, sea bass, blackfish and winter cod. Light-tackle captains work the harbor, Jamaica Bay and Raritan Bay for spring stripers and fall blitzes of bluefish and false albacore.

The Hudson River. Every spring, striped bass push up the tidal Hudson to spawn, and the river becomes one of the most accessible trophy striper fisheries on the coast. DEC samples spawning bass between April and June. Hudson captains book this run for a short window, typically mid-April through May.

Lake Ontario and the Salmon River (Oswego, Pulaski). Oswego boats troll the open lake from spring through September for chinook and coho salmon, brown and lake trout, and steelhead. Nearby Pulaski sits on the Salmon River, where drift boat guides fish the fall salmon run and then steelhead from late fall into spring.

Top species and tactics

• Striped bass: Spring in the Hudson, western Sound and NYC waters; summer nights and the fall run at Montauk. Marine harvest is a narrow slot, so most big fish go back.
• Fluke (summer flounder): The South Shore’s bread and butter from May into early fall. Bucktails and drifted strip baits on bay and ocean bottom.
• Black sea bass and porgy (scup): Reef, wreck and rockpile fish that fill coolers on Montauk and Brooklyn party boats, with fall bringing jumbo porgies and bigger bass.
• Bluefish: Available spring through fall almost everywhere, with party boats allowed a slightly higher bag than private anglers.
• Tautog (blackfish): A fall and early-winter specialty around Montauk and NYC rock piles, fished with green crabs.
• Weakfish: Spring and summer in the bays and western Sound, under a one-fish limit.
• Bluefin tuna and mahi-mahi: Summer and early fall offshore of Montauk and the South Shore. The Hudson Canyon begins roughly 100 miles southeast of New York City and is the largest submarine canyon on the U.S. Atlantic coast.
• King salmon: Lake Ontario’s headline fish. DEC’s 2024 boat survey found chinook catch rates second highest in 39 years, and charter boats made up about 40 percent of boats interviewed.
• Steelhead and brown trout: Tributary fish from fall through spring, and a spring and late-summer target on the open lake.

When to go

Spring (April–June): Hudson River stripers from mid-April, western Sound and NYC stripers, weakfish, and early fluke by May. Lake Ontario’s nearshore brown trout and king bite starts in late April.

Summer (July–August): Fluke and sea bass on the South Shore, Montauk nights for stripers, offshore tuna and mahi, and deep-water trolling for kings on Lake Ontario.

Fall (September–November): The best all-around season. Montauk’s fall striper and bluefish run, jumbo porgies, blackfish, false albacore, and the Salmon River king run, which DEC says usually peaks from mid-September to mid-October on the dam-controlled rivers.

Winter (December–March): Cod and blackfish trips on the hardiest party boats, and steelhead on the Salmon River for anglers who dress for it.

A 2026 note for Pulaski: Low rainfall left the Salmon River Reservoir below normal this fall, so DEC delayed the usual September baseflow increase and kept the lower fly-fishing section below the hatchery closed until egg collection is secure. The rest of the river stayed open, and early reports described strong king fishing with fish in the high 20s and low 30s of pounds. Check DEC before you drive.

What it costs

• $58–$75 per person: Half-day party boat for fluke and bottom fish (Captree, Montauk).
• $120–$175 per person: Full-day party boat trips for porgies, sea bass, blackfish or cod, and Montauk night striper trips.
• $275+ per person: Split (shared) charters on larger boats; multi-day offshore head boat trips start around $550.
• $600–$900 per boat: Half-day private inshore trips at Montauk and on the Hudson (typically up to four anglers), or a six-hour Lake Ontario charter out of Oswego (up to six).
• $1,100–$1,300 per boat: Three-quarter and full-day private inshore trips at Montauk.
• $2,000–$2,300+ per boat: Offshore tuna trips out of Montauk; longer canyon runs cost more.
• $350–$450 per day: Salmon River drift boat guide for one or two anglers.

Party boats price by the person; private charters price by the boat. Mates on private boats expect around 20 percent.

Licenses and rules

Saltwater: Anglers 16 and older must enroll in the free Recreational Marine Fishing Registry through DEC. You are exempt when fishing from a licensed party or charter boat. See the DEC registry page.

Freshwater: Lake Ontario and the Salmon River require a New York fishing license for anyone 16 and older, and the charter exemption does not apply. One-day and seven-day licenses are available for visitors, and Oswego and Pulaski captains expect you to bring your own.

Seasons and limits: For 2026, DEC kept marine striped bass at a one-fish slot of 28 to 31 inches (April 15 to December 15), with a separate 23 to 28 inch slot on the Hudson north of the George Washington Bridge, where inline circle hooks are required with bait. After reviewing Addendum III, ASMFC chose to keep existing coastwide striped bass measures in place for 2026. Fluke season runs from early May to mid-October; sea bass opens in mid-May with a higher bag from September; porgy runs May through December; and blackfish has short spring and fall seasons. Limits shift year to year, so check the DEC saltwater regulations before your trip.

Choosing a captain

Decide first between a party boat and a private charter. Party boats are the cheapest way to get fish in the cooler and are great for families; private charters let you pick the target, the tactics and the pace. Offshore, ask how far the boat runs and how many anglers the price covers. On Lake Ontario, ask how many anglers the boat takes and whether rods and tackle are included. For the Salmon River, book early: the best October dates go first. Browse all New York fishing charters by city.

Unreel doesn’t take a cut of any booking. The price the captain quotes is what the captain keeps.