Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Bay · New York

Oyster Bay Harbor

40.88°N · 73.52°W · Bay · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

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Best score today · 11 PM · Atlantic croaker

80/100Great
Now
638 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding6.0 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 · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 PM · now

Time8PNOW
Score63Good
Tide6.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward NNW
Wind8 kn NEgusts 17 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp59°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy48% cloud
Water66°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic croaker 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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Atlantic croaker is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Atlantic croaker in New York →

Spot profile

Oyster Bay Harbor

Depth
15-25 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic croaker

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 Oyster Bay Harbor

Oyster Bay Harbor is a bay in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 15-25 ft, with a slope. 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 black sea bass, tautog, striped bass and bluefish. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
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 →
  • West Harbor

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    78
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 78
    • Spot 78
    • Sheepshead 77

    8 kt NEH 10:15 PM · 7.5 ftL 4:35 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Brickyard Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    77
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 77
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 69

    8 kt NEH 10:15 PM · 7.5 ftL 4:35 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Weeks Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    77
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 77
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 69

    8 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.7 ft

  • The Cove

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Little tunny 74
    • Spot 74

    8 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.7 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.