Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

ScupPeak season

Bay · New York

Gravesend Bay

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 4 AM · Spot

77/100Great
Now
671 PM EDT
Best window
2-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.0 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Gravesend Bay scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 28 · 2 PM

Time2P
Score76Great
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.4 kn · toward ESE
Wind11 kn NNEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast39% chance of rain
Water66°FModel

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 little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, black sea bass and Atlantic croaker. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hendricks Reef

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Little tunny 71
    • Red drum 70

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

  • Vandeventers Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Scup 72
    • Spanish mackerel 64

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

  • The Narrows

    Channel · 3.4 mi

    72
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 72
    • Summer flounder 72
    • Scup 71

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

  • West Bank

    Bar · 2.3 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Scup 63
    • Summer flounder 62

    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.