Waterlands

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Black sea bassShoulder season

Bar · New York

The Bluzes

40.86°N · 73.77°W · Bar · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

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Best score today · 7 AM · Black sea bass

79/100Great
Now
494 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low1.0 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score49Good
Tide1.0 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind11 kn NEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy70% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black sea bass in New York

Spot profile

The Bluzes

Depth
10-50 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonBlack sea bass

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 The Bluzes

The Bluzes is a bar in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 10-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bar, 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, Spanish mackerel and summer flounder, and shoulder season for black sea bass, bluefish, king mackerel and tautog. 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

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.
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

  • Middle Reef

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Little tunny 54
    • Sheepshead 54

    11 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Machaux Rock

    Bar · 0.9 mi

    57
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 57
    • Little tunny 51
    • Black sea bass 50

    11 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Pelham Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    54
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 54
    • Spot 51
    • Little tunny 50

    11 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ft

  • South Nonations

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    51
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 51
    • Bluefish 48
    • Scup 48

    11 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 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.