Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Bay · New York

Bostwick Bay

41.11°N · 72.13°W · Bay · Peconic and Gardiners Bays

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · Tautog

69/100Great
Now
427 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score42Fair
Tide2.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind17 kn NEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here

Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder

Tautog season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Tautog in New York

Spot profile

Bostwick Bay

Depth
15-30 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonTautog

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 Bostwick Bay

Bostwick Bay is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 15-30 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 bluefish, Atlantic croaker, striped bass and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Tautog
Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
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

  • Gardiners Bay

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 60
    • Little tunny 53

    17 kt NEH 8:05 PM · 2.8 ftL 2:05 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Cherry Hill Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    57
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 57
    • Little tunny 56
    • Spot 55

    17 kt NEH 8:05 PM · 2.8 ftL 2:05 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Crow Shoal

    Bar · 3.0 mi

    57
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 57
    • Spot 55
    • Little tunny 53

    17 kt NEH 8:05 PM · 2.8 ftL 2:05 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Cherry Harbor

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    46
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 46
    • Bluefish 43
    • Striped bass 43

    22 kt NEH 8:05 PM · 2.8 ftL 2:05 AM · 0.6 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.