Waterlands

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SheepsheadPeak season

Cape · New York

Vandeventers Point

40.60°N · 74.05°W · Cape · New York Harbor

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Best score today · 9 AM · Sheepshead

82/100Great
Now
642 PM EDT
Best window
2-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score64Good
Tide2.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward SE
Wind9 kn ENEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.9 ft · 5 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water72°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sheepshead 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 Sheepshead is best here

Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak

Sheepshead season by week of the year. Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Sheepshead in New York

Spot profile

Vandeventers Point

Depth
10-70 ftDrop-off
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Peak seasonSheepshead

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 Vandeventers Point

Vandeventers Point is a cape in New York Harbor. Depth is 10-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and black sea bass. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for black sea bass, bluefish, king mackerel and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Sheepshead
Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hendricks Reef

    Bar · 0.9 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Sheepshead 70
    • Little tunny 69

    9 kt ENEH 5:33 PM · 4.9 ftL 12:06 AM · 0.8 ft

  • The Narrows

    Channel · 1.8 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Sheepshead 68
    • Spanish mackerel 68

    9 kt ENEH 5:34 PM · 4.6 ftL 12:08 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Gravesend Bay

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 70
    • Sheepshead 68

    9 kt ENEH 5:30 PM · 5.0 ftL 12:02 AM · 0.9 ft

  • West Bank

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Scup 67
    • Spot 65

    9 kt ENEH 5:33 PM · 4.9 ftL 12:06 AM · 0.8 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.