Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Cape · New York

Sands Point

40.87°N · 73.73°W · Cape · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Weakfish

78/100Great
Now
628 AM EDT
Best window
8-9 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding5.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score62Good
Tide5.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward SW
Wind9 kn NEgusts 20 · building
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 3 s
Air temp57°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.

Source: NYSDEC · synced yesterday

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

Sands Point

Depth
5-20 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Sands Point

Sands Point is a cape in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth in the nearest water is 5-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Success Rock

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    80
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 80
    • Little tunny 75
    • Sheepshead 74

    9 kt NEH 10:18 AM · 7.2 ftL 4:37 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Gangway Rock

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    80
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 80
    • Little tunny 75
    • Sheepshead 74

    9 kt NEH 10:18 AM · 7.2 ftL 4:37 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Execution Rocks

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    77
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 77
    • Little tunny 71
    • Sheepshead 71

    11 kt NEH 9:51 AM · 7.4 ftL 4:02 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Old Hen

    Bar · 0.9 mi

    75
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 75
    • Scup 72
    • Spanish mackerel 71

    9 kt NEH 10:18 AM · 7.2 ftL 4:37 PM · 0.9 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.