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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 4 AM · Spot
- Now
- 705 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lower Bay 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
71Wind: 9 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
69Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 3.3 ftSeason & habitat · Scup
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: NYSDEC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Scup is best here
Peak season for Scup · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Lower Bay
- Depth
- 25-35 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 Lower Bay
Lower Bay is a bay in New York Harbor. Depth is 25-35 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, 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, little tunny and sheepshead, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, black sea bass and weakfish. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August.
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.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Chapel Hill North Channel70
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 70
- Spot 68
- Summer flounder 62
9 kt ENEH 5:27 PM · 4.9 ftL 11:42 PM · 0.8 ft
- Chapel Hill South Channel70
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 70
- Spot 68
- Atlantic croaker 59
9 kt ENEH 5:31 PM · 4.9 ftL 11:59 PM · 0.8 ft
- Fourteen Foot Channel70
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 70
- Spot 68
- Summer flounder 60
9 kt ENEH 5:27 PM · 4.9 ftL 11:42 PM · 0.8 ft
- Craven Shoal62
Bar · 2.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 62
- Little tunny 53
- Summer flounder 52
9 kt ENEH 5:26 PM · 5.0 ftL 12:01 AM · 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.