UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
TautogShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Tautog
- Now
- 5611 PM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Great Kills Harbor 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 · 11 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
92Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt NPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
35Water temp: 76°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.2 ftSeason & habitat · Tautog
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here
Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Great Kills Harbor
- Depth
- 10-25 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonTautog
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 Great Kills Harbor
Great Kills Harbor is a bay in New York Harbor. Depth is 10-25 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and sheepshead. It is peak season now for spot, scup, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, weakfish, black sea bass and bluefish. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Tautog
- Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Raritan Bay West Reach76
Channel · 3.0 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 76
- Scup 70
- Red drum 69
6 kt NH 2:21 AM · 4.1 ftL 8:22 AM · 1.8 ft
- Crookes Point71
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 71
- Little tunny 68
- Scup 65
6 kt NH 2:22 AM · 4.0 ftL 8:35 AM · 1.5 ft
- Old Orchard Shoal71
Bar · 1.7 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 71
- Spanish mackerel 67
- Summer flounder 66
6 kt NH 2:22 AM · 4.0 ftL 8:35 AM · 1.5 ft
- Craven Shoal71
Bar · 2.8 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 71
- Spanish mackerel 67
- Summer flounder 66
6 kt NH 2:22 AM · 4.0 ftL 8:35 AM · 1.5 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.