Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Bar · New York

Dimond Reef

40.70°N · 74.01°W · Bar · New York Harbor

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Best score today · 7 AM · Tautog

81/100Great
Now
476 PM EDT
Best window
6-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High4.8 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score47Good
Tide4.8 ftHigh
CurrentFlood1.3 kn · toward N
Wind8 kn NEgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 5 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast99% cloud
Water72°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Tautog is best here

Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Tautog in New York

Spot profile

Dimond Reef

Depth
30-45 ftSlope
Structure
Reef · Inner · ProtectedReef · 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 Dimond Reef

Dimond Reef is a bar in New York Harbor. Depth is 30-45 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads reef, inner water and protected.

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 red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, king mackerel 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

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

  • Red Hook Channel

    Channel · 1.9 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Spot 75
    • Atlantic croaker 65

    8 kt NEL 12:19 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ft

  • Buttermilk Channel

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Spot 71
    • Atlantic croaker 64

    8 kt NEL 12:31 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:38 AM · 4.5 ft

  • Gowanus Bay

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Spot 73
    • Atlantic croaker 61

    8 kt NEL 12:19 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ft

  • Gowanus Flats

    Bar · 2.2 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Spot 68
    • Little tunny 60

    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.