The Fire Island Inlet, NY marine forecast covers live wind speed and gusts, tide predictions, wave conditions, and major and minor solunar feeding times, updated continuously from NOAA and Open-Meteo. The strongest fishing windows usually line up with the moving tide and the solunar periods shown below — check current conditions before you head out.
By Steve Wilson, lifelong angler & founder of My Marine Forecast
Last updated: Aug 25, 2026, 8:00 AM
On Tuesday, August 25, Fire Island Inlet, NY sees high tide at 5:59 AM (2.4 ft) and 6:14 PM (2.9 ft), low tide at 12:08 AM (0.4 ft) and 12:09 PM (0.5 ft). Winds 4–15 mph from the SW gusting to 20 mph. Air temperatures 63–79°F. The strongest fishing windows line up with the moving water around each tide change, roughly an hour on either side.
Today's Tides · Station 8515228
| Low tide | 12:08 AM | 0.4 ft |
| High tide | 5:59 AM | 2.4 ft |
| Low tide | 12:09 PM | 0.5 ft |
| High tide | 6:14 PM | 2.9 ft |
Wind
4–15 mph SW
Gusts
20 mph
Air Temp
63–79°F
Tides from NOAA Station 8515228 · wind & temperature from Open-Meteo. Open the live forecast for hourly charts and the 7-day outlook.
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Tide data sourced from NOAA Station 8515228
Fire Island Inlet is the tidal gateway between Great South Bay and the Atlantic, squeezed between Democrat Point on the west end of Fire Island and the Oak Beach shoreline. Everything that lives in or passes through the bay funnels across this bar, which is why the inlet fishes far better than its size suggests. It is also one of the most current-driven pieces of water on the South Shore.
The inlet runs hard on both tides and the shoals move season to season, so local knowledge and a current forecast matter fish report. Outgoing water pulls bait out of the bay and stacks predators along the edges of the channel; the incoming pushes clean ocean water over the flats inside. Timing a trip to the current, not just the clock, is the single biggest factor in a good day here.
Striped bass, bluefish and summer flounder are the mainstays, with false albacore adding a fall wildcard. The Captree fleet sails from just inside the inlet, and Robert Moses State Park puts surfcasters within walking distance of the western jetty. Wind against tide builds a short steep chop on the bar quickly, so wave and wind timing deserve a look before any small boat crosses.
Spring: Schoolie bass show inside Great South Bay in April and work out toward the inlet as the water climbs through May, with the better fish arriving behind the bunker schools. Fluke opens in May and sets up on the sand along the channel edges. Bluefish arrive hungry and unfussy, often the first real rod-bender of the year on the outgoing tide.
Summer: Fluke fishing carries the summer on the drifts between the shoals, while bass fishing shifts to the night tides and the deeper channel edges once the water warms. The Captree fleet sails daily for fluke and sea bass. Snappers fill the bay behind the inlet by August, and a hard outgoing at dusk is reliably the best two hours of the day.
Fall: This is the season the inlet is known for. From September into November bait pours out of Great South Bay on every dropping tide and stripers, bluefish and false albacore pile onto it right at the mouth. Surfcasters work Democrat Point and the Robert Moses beaches while boats sit on the edges of the outflow. Weather windows get short but the fishing does not.
Winter: The run winds down through December and the inlet goes quiet. Blackfish hold on nearby wrecks and rockpiles into early winter for the boats that keep sailing. A few holdover bass stay deep in the back of the bay. By January most of the fleet is out of the water and the inlet is left to the shifting sand.
Democrat Point sits at the western tip of Fire Island and is the classic inlet surf spot, reached from Robert Moses Field 5. The Captree State Park boat basin on the north side launches the party and charter fleet. Oak Beach and the Sore Thumb hold fish on the right stage of tide. The shoals across the bar shift year to year, so current charts age faster here than most places.