Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

ScupPeak season

Bar · New York

Hendricks Reef

40.61°N · 74.04°W · Bar · New York Harbor

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · Scup

80/100Great
Now
775 PM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding4.8 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Hendricks Reef scores 75+

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

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score77Great
Tide4.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.1 kn · toward NNW
Wind9 kn ENEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 5 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water72°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 · 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

Hendricks Reef

Depth
15-100 ftDrop-off
Structure
Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · drop-off
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 Hendricks Reef

Hendricks Reef is a bar in New York Harbor. Depth is 15-100 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, Spanish mackerel and spot. It is peak season now for scup, Spanish mackerel, spot and little tunny, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, king mackerel, bluefish and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Spot peak from August 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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
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

  • Vandeventers Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Little tunny 69
    • Spot 67

    9 kt ENEL 12:08 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:09 AM · 4.3 ft

  • Gravesend Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Spot 73
    • Spanish mackerel 66

    9 kt ENEL 12:02 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:03 AM · 4.6 ft

  • The Narrows

    Channel · 1.6 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Spanish mackerel 68
    • Summer flounder 67

    8 kt ENEL 12:08 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:09 AM · 4.3 ft

  • West Bank

    Bar · 2.2 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Spot 68
    • Little tunny 64

    9 kt ENEL 12:06 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:06 AM · 4.5 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.