UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
WeakfishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Weakfish
- Now
- 505 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High4.8 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Old Orchard Shoal 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
27Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 7 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 72°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.9 ftSeason & habitat · Weakfish
Species seasonality
53Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here
Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Old Orchard Shoal
- Depth
- 15-20 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonWeakfish
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 Old Orchard Shoal
Old Orchard Shoal is a bar in New York Harbor. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, 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 Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, black sea bass and weakfish. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Weakfish
- Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Great Kills Harbor80
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 80
- Spot 80
- Atlantic croaker 67
6 kt ENEL 11:16 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:11 AM · 4.3 ft
- Raritan Bay76
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 76
- Spot 75
- Atlantic croaker 64
7 kt ENEL 11:16 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:11 AM · 4.3 ft
- Crookes Point73
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 73
- Spot 72
- Little tunny 67
6 kt ENEL 11:16 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:11 AM · 4.3 ft
- Craven Shoal73
Bar · 2.0 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 73
- Spot 72
- Little tunny 64
7 kt ENEL 11:16 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:11 AM · 4.3 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.