Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bay · New York

Mosquito Cove

40.85°N · 73.65°W · Bay · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

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Best score today · 11 PM · Weakfish

78/100Great
Now
581 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score58Good
Tide4.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward NW
Wind12 kn ENEgusts 29 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp64°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

Mosquito Cove

Depth
4-20 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Mosquito Cove

Mosquito Cove is a bay in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 4-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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, black sea bass and striped 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

  • Hempstead Harbor

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Little tunny 68
    • Sheepshead 68

    12 kt ENEL 4:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 10:22 PM · 7.4 ft

  • Red Spring Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    68
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 68
    • Spot 61
    • Bluefish 59

    12 kt ENEL 4:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 10:22 PM · 7.4 ft

  • Picket Rock

    Bar · 1.4 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Black sea bass 65
    • Sheepshead 65

    12 kt ENEL 4:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 10:22 PM · 7.4 ft

  • Carpenter Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Bluefish 53
    • Striped bass 52

    12 kt ENEL 4:10 PM · 0.8 ftH 10:04 PM · 7.5 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.