Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Channel · New York

Haven Reach

40.38°N · 74.02°W · Channel · New York Harbor

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Best score today · 5 PM · Weakfish

78/100Great
Now
596 PM EDT
Best window
6-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High3.4 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
Score59Good
Tide3.4 ftHigh
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward N
Wind6 kn ENEgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 5 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy66% cloud
Water72°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

Weakfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Weakfish in New York

Spot profile

Haven Reach

Depth
6-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 Haven Reach

Haven Reach is a channel in New York Harbor. Depth is 6-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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

  • Barley Point Reach

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    78
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 78
    • Spot 77
    • Atlantic croaker 68

    6 kt ENEL 1:00 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:26 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Oyster Bay

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Spot 74
    • Little tunny 65

    10 kt NEL 12:22 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:28 AM · 2.8 ft

  • Upper Rocky Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Scup 72
    • Spot 71

    6 kt ENEL 11:29 PM · 0.9 ftH 5:30 AM · 3.8 ft

  • Barley Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    72
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 72
    • Spot 71
    • Little tunny 67

    6 kt ENEL 1:00 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:26 AM · 3.0 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.