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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Scup
- Now
- 581 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2-9 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.1 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 · 1 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
68Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
72Wind: 10 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
48Water temp: 69°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 3.4 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 yesterday
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 bluefish. It is peak season now for scup, spot, sheepshead and little tunny, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, weakfish and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.
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.
- Bluefish
- Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Fourteen Foot Channel61
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 61
- Spot 61
- Bluefish 57
10 kt NEH 6:00 AM · 4.5 ftL 11:52 AM · 1.0 ft
- Chapel Hill North Channel60
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Summer flounderPeak season- Summer flounder 60
- Weakfish 60
- Red drum 59
10 kt NEH 6:00 AM · 4.5 ftL 11:52 AM · 1.0 ft
- Chapel Hill South Channel57
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 57
- Spot 56
- Red drum 52
10 kt NEH 6:04 AM · 4.5 ftL 12:09 PM · 1.0 ft
- Craven Shoal53
Bar · 2.2 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 53
- Scup 52
- Little tunny 50
10 kt NEH 5:59 AM · 4.7 ftL 12:16 PM · 0.9 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.