Waterlands

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ScupPeak season

Bay · New York

Gravesend Bay

40.59°N · 74.01°W · Bay · New York Harbor

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Best score today · 4 AM · Spot

77/100Great
Now
712 PM EDT
Best window
2-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score71Great
Tide2.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind9 kn ENEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.9 ft · 5 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water72°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Scup is best here

Peak season for Scup · 5 more weeks at peak

Scup season by week of the year. Peak season for Scup · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Scup in New York

Spot profile

Gravesend Bay

Depth
20-25 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
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 Gravesend Bay

Gravesend Bay is a bay in New York Harbor. Depth is 20-25 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and sheepshead. It is peak season now for scup, spot, sheepshead and little tunny, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hendricks Reef

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Sheepshead 70
    • Little tunny 69

    9 kt ENEH 5:33 PM · 4.9 ftL 12:06 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Vandeventers Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Little tunny 71
    • Black sea bass 67

    9 kt ENEH 5:34 PM · 4.6 ftL 12:08 AM · 0.7 ft

  • The Narrows

    Channel · 3.4 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Sheepshead 68
    • Spanish mackerel 68

    9 kt ENEH 5:34 PM · 4.6 ftL 12:08 AM · 0.7 ft

  • West Bank

    Bar · 2.3 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Scup 67
    • Spot 65

    9 kt ENEH 5:33 PM · 4.9 ftL 12:06 AM · 0.8 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.