Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bar · New York

Target Rock

40.93°N · 73.43°W · Bar · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

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Best score today · 7 PM · Cobia

79/100Great
Now
475 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
Score47Good
Tide1.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind9 kn NEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water70°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Cobia in New York

Spot profile

Target Rock

Depth
8-35 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Target Rock

Target Rock is a bar in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 8-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, black sea bass and little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, sheepshead and summer flounder, and shoulder season for black sea bass, bluefish, king mackerel and tautog. Scup peak from June through October. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November. Little tunny peak from September through October.

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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Morris Rock

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    72
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 72
    • Little tunny 65
    • Black sea bass 64

    9 kt NEH 10:09 PM · 7.0 ftL 4:29 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Price Bend

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Spot 65
    • Little tunny 64

    9 kt NEH 9:53 PM · 7.3 ftL 4:09 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Lloyd Harbor

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Spot 66
    • Sheepshead 64

    9 kt NEH 10:09 PM · 7.0 ftL 4:29 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Huntington Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    66
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 66
    • Spot 62
    • Little tunny 61

    9 kt NEH 10:09 PM · 7.0 ftL 4:29 AM · 0.7 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.