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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 PM · Scup
- Now
- 785 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High4.8 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Gowanus Bay 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
98Tide: High slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 5 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
88Water temp: 73°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Scup
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Scup 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 Scup is best here
Peak season for Scup · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Gowanus Bay
- Depth
- 15-40 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- Season
- Peak seasonScup
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 Gowanus Bay
Gowanus Bay is a bay in New York Harbor. Depth is 15-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for spot, scup, little tunny and sheepshead, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, weakfish, bluefish and spotted seatrout. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Red Hook Channel80
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 80
- Scup 78
- Atlantic croaker 71
5 kt ENEL 11:36 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:34 AM · 4.3 ft
- Bay Ridge Channel80
Channel · 0.8 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 80
- Scup 78
- Atlantic croaker 70
5 kt ENEL 11:36 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:34 AM · 4.3 ft
- Buttermilk Channel78
Channel · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 78
- Spot 77
- Atlantic croaker 70
5 kt ENEH 5:12 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:48 PM · 1.1 ft
- Gowanus Flats73
Bar · 0.5 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 73
- Scup 72
- Red drum 64
5 kt ENEL 11:36 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:34 AM · 4.3 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.