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CobiaShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 302 AM EDT
- Best window
- 6-10 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Highlands Reach 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 · 2 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
87Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
75Wind: 9 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
35Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 69°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.3 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Cobia is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NYSDEC before you keep a fish.
Source: NYSDEC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Highlands Reach
- Depth
- 5-25 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCobia
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 Highlands Reach
Highlands Reach is a channel in New York Harbor. Depth is 5-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, sheepshead and striped bass. It is peak season now for scup, sheepshead, summer flounder and little tunny, and shoulder season for striped bass, black sea bass, bluefish and king mackerel. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December.
Tackle & technique
- Cobia
- Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
- 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.
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Upper Rocky Point61
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 61
- Striped bass 60
- Bluefish 58
9 kt NEH 6:21 AM · 4.0 ftL 12:23 PM · 0.9 ft
- Barley Point51
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 51
- Striped bass 50
- Bluefish 48
9 kt NEH 7:17 AM · 3.2 ftL 1:54 PM · 0.6 ft
- Barley Point Reach50
Channel · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 50
- Striped bass 48
- Sheepshead 47
9 kt NEH 7:17 AM · 3.2 ftL 1:54 PM · 0.6 ft
- Oyster Bay49
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 49
- Little tunny 46
- Scup 46
18 kt NEH 7:19 AM · 3.0 ftL 1:16 PM · 0.7 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.