01The Fish
Northern puffers — known universally on Long Island as blowfish — are small, comically-shaped fish with a built-in defense mechanism: they puff up like beach balls when threatened, swallowing water to triple their size. Mottled olive-green back, white belly, big eyes, small toothy beak.
Through the 1960s, blowfish were a Long Island staple — Peconic Bay docks were lined with kids catching them by the bucket. The fishery collapsed in the 70s and was essentially gone for thirty years. In the 2010s they started coming back, and the East End summer blowfish fishery is real again, if you know where to look.
02When & Where
June through September. The summer window. Peconic Bay, Three Mile Harbor, Northwest Creek — the back bays where the water warms. Around docks, pilings, and sandy-bottom structure in 4-12 feet.
Best times. Outgoing tide, late morning into afternoon when the water has warmed up. Calm days produce better than windy.
The school behavior. Find one blowfish and you'll usually find ten. They move in loose schools through the bay; drop a clam bait into the right pocket and the action is steady.
03How to Catch Them
Simple gear, simple bait, classic kids-and-grandparents fishing.
Bottom rig with clam. A 1-2 oz sinker, a small (size 4-2) baitholder hook, a chunk of clam belly. Drop to bottom, hold tight, wait for the rapid "tap-tap" of the puffer chewing.
Sweetened with squid. A small piece of squid strip on the hook makes it last longer on the hook through repeated bites.
The boat or the dock. Both work. Dock anglers do as well as boats in the right spot. Bring a small cooler and ice — blowfish are best fresh.
Blowfish meat is the tail muscle only — the "sugar toad" piece. The body, including the puffer organ, must be discarded (it contains tetrodotoxin in some pufferfish species, though northern puffer flesh is widely considered safe). The cleaned tail meat is white, dense, and sweet — old-school Long Island fish-fry. Watch a YouTube cleaning video before your first fish.
Gear
- Light spinning rod (medium-light)
- 10-15 lb mono main line
- Bottom rig with 1-2 oz sinker
- #2 or #4 baitholder hooks
- Bucket + ice for the catch
Bait
- Surf clam belly (#1 bait)
- Squid strips (sweeten the clam)
- Bloodworm pieces (if clams unavailable)
- Cut spearing (smaller blowfish)
04Regulations · NY 2026
Current regulations as of the May 12, 2026 NYSDEC update. Always verify before keeping fish — regs change.
- Northern puffer / blowfish is not specifically regulated by NY DEC marine regulations — no minimum size, no bag limit, no closed season.
- License required: NY Marine Registry (free) for recreational anglers 16+
- Cleaning warning: Discard the body, organs, and skin. Eat the tail meat only. Northern puffer flesh is widely considered safe but follow proper cleaning technique — verify with a local source before eating.
- Verify: DEC marine regs page or call DEC at 631-444-0430 before keeping fish.
Blowfish all but disappeared from the East End for thirty years. They came back. Respect that — take what you eat, leave the rest. The fishery exists because the population recovered, and overharvest could send it back into the dark years.
05The East End Calendar
- Jun: First push into the back bays. Water warming.
- Jul – Aug: Peak. Daily action in Peconic Bay docks and back creeks.
- Sept: Continues into early fall.
- Oct: Done as the water cools.