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CobiaShoulder seasonBar · New York
Middle Reef
40.87°N · 73.77°W · Bar · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 495 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Middle Reef scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
59Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
57Wind: 10 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
77Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.0 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Cobia is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NYSDEC before you keep a fish.
Source: NYSDEC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Middle Reef
- Depth
- 15-35 ftSlope
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCobia
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 Middle Reef
Middle Reef is a bar in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 15-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, sheepshead and black sea bass. It is peak season now for scup, sheepshead, little tunny and red drum, and shoulder season for black sea bass, bluefish, king mackerel and weakfish. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Cobia
- Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
- 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.
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- The Bluzes71
Bar · 0.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 71
- Little tunny 63
- Black sea bass 62
10 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ft
- Machaux Rock69
Bar · 0.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 69
- Little tunny 62
- Black sea bass 61
10 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ft
- Stevens Rock67
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 67
- Little tunny 60
- Black sea bass 59
11 kt ENEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ft
- South Nonations63
Bar · 0.4 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 63
- Scup 63
- Spanish mackerel 62
10 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 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.