Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bay · New York

Kniffins Cove

40.96°N · 73.68°W · Bay · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

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Best score today · 7 PM · Weakfish

76/100Great
Now
602 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score60Good
Tide2.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.7 kn · toward NE
Wind11 kn ENEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Weakfish in New York

Spot profile

Kniffins Cove

Depth
7-20 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 Kniffins Cove

Kniffins Cove is a bay in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 7-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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.
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

  • Forlies Rocks

    Bar · 0.5 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Sheepshead 66

    11 kt ENEL 4:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 10:07 PM · 7.7 ft

  • Forbes Rocks

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Sheepshead 66

    11 kt ENEL 4:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 10:07 PM · 7.7 ft

  • Porgy Shoal

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Spanish mackerel 65
    • Summer flounder 65

    11 kt ENEL 4:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 10:07 PM · 7.7 ft

  • Mill Pond

    Flat · 0.5 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Summer flounder 65
    • Little tunny 64

    11 kt ENEL 4:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 10:07 PM · 7.7 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.