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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Spot
- Now
- 6112 PM EDT
- Best window
- 1-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.4 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
Saturday, Oct 3 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
81Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 6 kt SWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
91Water temp: 66°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
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 little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, black sea bass and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September 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.
- 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.
- Little tunny
- Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Fourteen Foot Channel65
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 65
- Spot 61
- Summer flounder 61
9 kt NEH 5:27 PM · 4.9 ftL 11:42 PM · 0.8 ft
- Chapel Hill North Channel64
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Summer flounderPeak season- Summer flounder 64
- Scup 62
- Red drum 60
9 kt NEH 5:27 PM · 4.9 ftL 11:42 PM · 0.8 ft
- Chapel Hill South Channel60
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 60
- Summer flounder 57
- Spot 56
9 kt NEH 5:31 PM · 4.9 ftL 11:59 PM · 0.8 ft
- Craven Shoal55
Bar · 2.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 55
- Little tunny 54
- Summer flounder 53
9 kt NEH 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.