Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak season

Bar · New York

Forbes Rocks

40.95°N · 73.67°W · Bar · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Summer flounder

78/100Great
Now
494 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.9 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score49Good
Tide0.9 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind11 kn ENEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Summer flounder is best here

Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in New York

Spot profile

Forbes Rocks

Depth
15-40 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · slope
Season
Peak seasonSummer flounder

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 Forbes Rocks

Forbes Rocks is a bar in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 15-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and black sea bass. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, sheepshead and summer flounder, and shoulder season for black sea bass, bluefish, king mackerel and tautog. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Forlies Rocks

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Little tunny 53
    • Black sea bass 52

    11 kt ENEH 10:07 PM · 7.7 ftL 4:28 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Transport Rock

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Little tunny 53
    • Black sea bass 52

    11 kt ENEH 10:07 PM · 7.7 ftL 4:28 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Kniffins Cove

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Spot 53
    • Little tunny 52

    11 kt ENEH 10:07 PM · 7.7 ftL 4:28 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Porgy Shoal

    Bar · 0.5 mi

    53
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 53
    • Scup 51
    • Bluefish 49

    11 kt ENEH 10:07 PM · 7.7 ftL 4:28 AM · 0.5 ft

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.