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SheepsheadPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 667 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing4.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Buttermilk Channel scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 7 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
63Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.1 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
89Wind: 8 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
85Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.0 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
84Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Sheepshead is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NYSDEC before you keep a fish.
Source: NYSDEC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sheepshead is best here
Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Buttermilk Channel
- Depth
- 35-50 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · slope
- Season
- Peak seasonSheepshead
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 Buttermilk Channel
Buttermilk Channel is a channel in New York Harbor. Depth is 35-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and summer flounder. It is peak season now for scup, spot, summer flounder and little tunny, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, weakfish, striped bass and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Summer flounder peak from June through September.
Tackle & technique
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
- 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
- Dimond Reef81
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 81
- Little tunny 74
- Red drum 71
8 kt NEL 12:31 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:38 AM · 4.5 ft
- Red Hook Channel74
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 74
- Spot 74
- Sheepshead 66
8 kt NEL 12:19 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ft
- Gowanus Bay74
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 74
- Spot 73
- Little tunny 68
8 kt NEL 12:19 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ft
- Gowanus Flats69
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 69
- Scup 69
- Spot 68
8 kt NEL 12:19 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:20 AM · 4.6 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.