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King mackerelShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 466 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High4.2 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Upper 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
33Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.5 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
90Wind: 5 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
83Water temp: 72°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.5 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
41Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for King mackerel 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 King mackerel is best here
Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Upper Bay
- Depth
- 45-60 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonKing mackerel
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 Upper Bay
Upper Bay is a bay in New York Harbor. Depth is 45-60 ft, with a slope. 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 Atlantic croaker, weakfish, bluefish and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- King mackerel
- Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
- 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
- Bay Ridge Channel78
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 78
- Scup 77
- Atlantic croaker 68
5 kt NNEL 11:42 AM · 1.2 ftH 5:47 PM · 5.0 ft
- Red Hook Channel78
Channel · 1.5 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 78
- Scup 77
- Atlantic croaker 68
5 kt NNEL 11:42 AM · 1.2 ftH 5:47 PM · 5.0 ft
- Anchorage Channel77
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 77
- Spot 71
- Atlantic croaker 67
5 kt NNEL 11:39 AM · 1.3 ftH 5:48 PM · 4.8 ft
- Gowanus Flats71
Bar · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 71
- Spot 71
- Red drum 62
5 kt NNEL 11:42 AM · 1.2 ftH 5:47 PM · 5.0 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.