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BluefishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 4 AM · Bluefish
- Now
- 511 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2-10 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding0.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Red Hook Channel 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 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
88Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.1 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 5 kt SEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
99Water temp: 67°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Bluefish
Species seasonality
64Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here
Shoulder season for Bluefish · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Red Hook Channel
- Depth
- 15-45 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonBluefish
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 Red Hook Channel
Red Hook Channel is a channel in New York Harbor. Depth is 15-45 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for scup, spot, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for weakfish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and spotted seatrout. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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
- Gowanus Bay64
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 64
- Spot 63
- Red drum 59
7 kt NNEH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ftL 12:28 PM · 1.0 ft
- Bay Ridge Channel64
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 64
- Spot 64
- Red drum 60
7 kt NNEH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ftL 12:28 PM · 1.0 ft
- Gowanus Flats63
Bar · 0.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 63
- Scup 58
- Little tunny 57
7 kt NNEH 6:20 AM · 4.6 ftL 12:28 PM · 1.0 ft
- Buttermilk Channel63
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 63
- Weakfish 63
- Summer flounder 62
7 kt NNEH 6:38 AM · 4.5 ftL 12:40 PM · 1.0 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.