UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
TautogShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Tautog
- Now
- 523 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-9 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding2.1 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 · 3 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 8 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
36Water temp: 71°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.0 ftSeason & habitat · Tautog
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here
Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Buttermilk Channel
- Depth
- 35-50 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonTautog
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 red drum. It is peak season now for scup, spot, red drum and sheepshead, and shoulder season for weakfish, Atlantic croaker, striped bass and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Tautog
- Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
- 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 Reef76
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 76
- Red drum 73
- Little tunny 71
8 kt NNEH 6:38 AM · 4.5 ftL 12:40 PM · 1.0 ft
- Red Hook Channel75
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 75
- Scup 73
- Sheepshead 70
8 kt NNEH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ftL 12:28 PM · 1.0 ft
- Gowanus Bay74
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 74
- Scup 73
- Little tunny 69
8 kt NNEH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ftL 12:28 PM · 1.0 ft
- Gowanus Flats73
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Little tunny 70
- Spot 69
8 kt NNEH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ftL 12:28 PM · 1.0 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.