Yellowfin Tuna Fishing Out of Moriches: A Port Briefing

Yellowfin tuna fishing out of Moriches runs from late summer into October, with boats leaving Center Moriches for midshore and offshore grounds. This page covers when the fish are around, where boats run, the structure you pass on the way out, the order of tactics through a day, and who works the fishery. The yellowfin tuna guide covers the fish itself; this page stays on the port.

When yellowfin are off Moriches

Yellowfin are off Moriches from late summer into October, and that window sets your trip planning. How the fish move up the coast is in our Atlantic Northeast yellowfin guide (see also the Atlantic Northeast fishing guide).

Late summer into October

The fishery opens in late summer and runs into October. Boats leave from Center Moriches and work the midshore and offshore grounds throughout.

The chunking months

Rockfish Charters says September and October are its yellowfin chunking months. That window overlaps the dragger fishing covered below, late September to mid October.

Running out of Moriches

Boats leave from Center Moriches and reach the ocean through Moriches Inlet, bound for midshore and offshore grounds.

Center Moriches and the inlet

The West Jetty rocks mark the inlet, so use them as a landmark on the way out. Port details for Center Moriches and Moriches Inlet are on our Moriches port page.

Before the run, read the official NWS marine forecast for wind speed, wave height and wave period, and go by those numbers.

Midshore and offshore grounds

Boats from this port run to midshore and offshore grounds. Plan the run around the structure in the next section and the method sequence after it.

Grounds and structure near Moriches

Work outward from the inlet. Positions here are for planning only. Chart layers are not for navigation, so use the official chart.

Moriches Reef

Moriches Reef is an artificial reef of barges, tugs, trawlers and tanks in 70 ft of water, about 2.4 nautical miles south-southwest of Moriches Inlet. It is the first named structure outside the inlet.

The Coimbra

The Coimbra is an oil tanker wreck in 180 ft of water. It is the deeper of the two named structures offshore of the inlet, and worth building a day around.

Inlet and bay structure

Several marks sit at or inside the inlet:

• The West Jetty rocks at Moriches Inlet
• Mary’s Hole, near the inlet
• The hole between buoys 30 and 31, east in Moriches Bay off the Remsenburg shoreline
• The buoy chains throughout Moriches Bay, which hold triggerfish in August

These are inshore landmarks and part of the late-summer lead-in before the tuna push. They are not yellowfin water.

How yellowfin are fished from Moriches

The local day runs as a sequence: troll and poppers early, then jigging and chunking as the morning moves on. Rigging detail for each method is in our tuna fishing guides.

1. Early morning: troll.
2. First light: cast poppers.
3. After about 8 a.m.: jig and chunk.
4. Late September to mid October: chunk behind squid and scallop draggers.

Trolling early

Boats troll early in the morning.

Poppers at first light

Boats cast poppers at first light. Trolling and poppers share the early window.

Jigging and chunking after 8 a.m.

After about 8 a.m., the local switch is to jigging and chunking. Chunking means feeding cut bait into the water to draw fish to baited hooks.

Behind the draggers

From late September to mid October, squid and scallop draggers work the grounds, and boats chunk behind them.

Who fishes yellowfin out of Moriches

Local charters show how the port fishes yellowfin.

Rockfish Charters

Rockfish Charters lists yellowfin tuna and runs a 39 ft Contender 39ST, per Rockfish Charters’ own site. It names September and October as its chunking months.

FAQ: yellowfin tuna out of Moriches