Waterlands

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ScupPeak season

Bay · New York

Oyster Bay

40.36°N · 73.98°W · Bay · New York Harbor

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Best score today · 7 AM · Scup

69/100Great
Now
592 PM EDT
Best window
2-3 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.2 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score81Great
Tide1.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb2.0 kn · toward N
Wind2 kn SEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.8 ft · 9 s
Air temp68°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy24% cloud
Water66°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Scup is best here

Peak season for Scup · 5 more weeks at peak

Scup season by week of the year. Peak season for Scup · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Scup in New York

Spot profile

Oyster Bay

Depth
2-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Oyster Bay

Oyster Bay is a bay in New York Harbor. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and spot. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, spot and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, weakfish and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August 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.
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.
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

  • Upper Rocky Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Bluefish 64
    • Striped bass 62

    9 kt ENEH 5:48 PM · 4.4 ftL 12:13 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Barley Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Bluefish 58
    • Striped bass 56

    9 kt ENEH 6:44 PM · 3.5 ftL 1:44 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Long Branch Reach

    Channel · 1.4 mi

    39
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 39
    • Striped bass 38
    • Bluefish 33

    17 kt ENEH 7:49 PM · 2.7 ftL 2:40 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Shrewsbury Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    38
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 38
    • Striped bass 37
    • Black sea bass 34

    17 kt ENEH 7:49 PM · 2.7 ftL 2:40 AM · 0.5 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.