Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Cape · New York

Parsonage Point

40.94°N · 73.68°W · Cape · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

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Best score today · 7 AM · Atlantic croaker

77/100Great
Now
435 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score43Fair
Tide1.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind11 kn ENEgusts 27 · 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 Atlantic croaker 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 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

Parsonage Point

Depth
1-45 ftDrop-off
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
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 Parsonage Point

Parsonage Point is a cape in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 1-45 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, 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, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for black sea bass, bluefish, king mackerel and striped bass. 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

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.
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

  • Milton Harbor

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Spot 64
    • Sheepshead 62

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

  • Rye Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Scup 58
    • Bluefish 55

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

  • Milton Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Scup 58
    • Bluefish 55

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

  • Porgy Shoal

    Bar · 0.5 mi

    60
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 60
    • Scup 58
    • Spanish mackerel 58

    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.