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 · 6 PM · Scup

81/100Great
Now
696 PM EDT
Best window
6-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.6 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
Score69Great
Tide2.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.7 kn · toward ESE
Wind5 kn Ngusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 6 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy20% cloud
Water74°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 · 6 more weeks at peak

Scup season by week of the year. Peak season for Scup · 6 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 spot, little tunny and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for weakfish, spotted seatrout, Atlantic croaker and bluefish. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel 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.
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

  • Vandeventers Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    85
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 85
    • Spanish mackerel 77
    • Red drum 75

    5 kt NL 8:37 PM · 1.2 ftH 2:30 AM · 3.6 ft

  • Hendricks Reef

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    83
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 83
    • Little tunny 82
    • Spanish mackerel 82

    5 kt NL 8:29 PM · 1.5 ftH 2:23 AM · 3.9 ft

  • West Bank

    Bar · 2.3 mi

    79
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 79
    • Little tunny 77
    • Spot 76

    5 kt NL 8:29 PM · 1.5 ftH 2:23 AM · 3.9 ft

  • The Narrows

    Channel · 3.4 mi

    79
    Top: SheepsheadPeak season
    • Sheepshead 79
    • Spanish mackerel 79
    • Summer flounder 77

    5 kt NL 8:37 PM · 1.2 ftH 2:30 AM · 3.6 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.