Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Bay · New York

Duck Island Harbor

40.93°N · 73.38°W · Bay · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 11 PM · King mackerel

78/100Great
Now
519 AM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding6.9 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 86

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score51Good
Tide6.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind10 kn NEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp59°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NYSDEC before you keep a fish.

Always check with NYSDEC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: NYSDEC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

King mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

King mackerel in New York →

Spot profile

Duck Island Harbor

Depth
3-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonKing mackerel

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Duck Island Harbor

Duck Island Harbor is a bay in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 3-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and sheepshead. It is peak season now for scup, spot, sheepshead and little tunny, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, black sea bass, bluefish and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Price Bend

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    72
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 72
    • Spot 70
    • Atlantic croaker 58

    10 kt NEL 3:46 PM · 0.9 ftH 9:53 PM · 7.3 ft

  • Northport Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Spot 67
    • Little tunny 58

    11 kt NEH 9:55 AM · 7.0 ftL 4:09 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Winkle Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Spot 64
    • Little tunny 61

    10 kt NEL 3:46 PM · 0.9 ftH 9:53 PM · 7.3 ft

  • Little Neck Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Little tunny 64
    • Spot 64

    10 kt NEH 9:55 AM · 7.0 ftL 4:09 PM · 0.9 ft

Open in the tide map

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NYSDEC before you keep a fish.