Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bar · New York

West Bank

40.58°N · 74.05°W · Bar · New York Harbor

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Best score today · 2 PM · Weakfish

76/100Great
Now
5212 PM EDT
Best window
1-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.9 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score52Good
Tide1.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind9 kn NEgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast90% cloud
Water72°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Weakfish in New York

Spot profile

West Bank

Depth
7-25 ftSlope
Structure
Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · slope
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 West Bank

West Bank is a bar in New York Harbor. Depth is 7-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bank, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, Spanish mackerel and scup. It is peak season now for little tunny, Spanish mackerel, scup and spot, and shoulder season for bluefish, king mackerel, black sea bass and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Scup peak from June 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.
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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hendricks Reef

    Bar · 2.2 mi

    72
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 72
    • Scup 71
    • Little tunny 69

    9 kt NEH 4:38 PM · 4.7 ftL 11:22 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Vandeventers Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    71
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 71
    • Scup 70
    • Spanish mackerel 64

    9 kt NEH 4:44 PM · 4.5 ftL 11:24 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Chapel Hill North Channel

    Channel · 2.8 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Scup 70
    • Summer flounder 70

    9 kt NEH 4:32 PM · 4.7 ftL 10:58 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Gravesend Bay

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    66
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 66
    • Spot 66
    • Little tunny 62

    9 kt NEH 4:35 PM · 4.8 ftL 11:18 PM · 1.2 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.