Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Channel · New York

Buttermilk Channel

40.68°N · 74.01°W · Channel · New York Harbor

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Best score today · 6 AM · Striped bass

76/100Great
Now
577 AM EDT
Best window
7-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High4.4 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score57Good
Tide4.4 ftHigh
CurrentFlood1.2 kn · toward NNE
Wind9 kn NEgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.1 ft · 6 s
Air temp55°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Striped bass 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 Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Striped bass in New York

Spot profile

Buttermilk Channel

Depth
35-50 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped 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 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 Atlantic croaker. 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. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August.

Tackle & technique

Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
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 Reef

    Bar · 0.8 mi

    80
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 80
    • Spot 69
    • Little tunny 66

    9 kt NEL 12:40 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:49 PM · 5.1 ft

  • Red Hook Channel

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Spot 76
    • Atlantic croaker 66

    9 kt NEL 12:28 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:31 PM · 5.2 ft

  • Gowanus Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Spot 75
    • Little tunny 65

    9 kt NEL 12:28 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:31 PM · 5.2 ft

  • Gowanus Flats

    Bar · 1.5 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 69
    • Little tunny 66

    9 kt NEL 12:28 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:31 PM · 5.2 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.