Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · New York

The Sand Hole

40.94°N · 73.49°W · Bay · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

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Best score today · 1 AM · Cobia

76/100Great
Now
499 AM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding6.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score49Good
Tide6.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind10 kn NEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.1 ft · 4 s
Air temp59°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°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.

Source: NYSDEC · synced yesterday

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

The Sand Hole

Depth
2-30 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 The Sand Hole

The Sand Hole is a bay in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 2-30 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 little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and sheepshead, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, weakfish and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. 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.
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

  • Centre Island Reef

    Bar · 2.2 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Spot 65
    • Black sea bass 63

    10 kt NEH 10:01 AM · 7.2 ftL 4:16 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Morris Rock

    Bar · 1.5 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Spot 64
    • Little tunny 61

    10 kt NEH 9:52 AM · 6.8 ftL 4:07 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Lloyd Harbor

    Bay · 2.7 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Spot 74
    • Sheepshead 65

    10 kt NEH 9:52 AM · 6.8 ftL 4:07 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Oyster Bay

    Bay · 2.8 mi

    72
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 72
    • Spot 70
    • Little tunny 62

    10 kt NEH 10:00 AM · 7.1 ftL 4:13 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.