Waterlands

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Black sea bassShoulder season

Bay · New York

Gravesend Bay

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

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Best score today · 7 AM · Black sea bass

74/100Great
Now
553 PM EDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.9 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score55Good
Tide2.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward WNW
Wind12 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 6 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy76% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Black sea bass in New York

Spot profile

Gravesend Bay

Depth
20-25 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonBlack sea bass

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, striped bass and weakfish. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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

  • Hendricks Reef

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    66
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 66
    • Black sea bass 61
    • Sheepshead 61

    12 kt NEH 6:21 PM · 5.2 ftL 12:47 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Vandeventers Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Little tunny 62
    • Black sea bass 60

    12 kt NEH 6:21 PM · 4.8 ftL 12:48 AM · 0.4 ft

  • The Narrows

    Channel · 3.4 mi

    63
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 63
    • Sheepshead 60
    • Black sea bass 59

    11 kt NEH 6:21 PM · 4.8 ftL 12:48 AM · 0.4 ft

  • West Bank

    Bar · 2.3 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Bluefish 59
    • Scup 59

    12 kt NEH 6:21 PM · 5.2 ftL 12:47 AM · 0.5 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.