Waterlands

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ScupShoulder season

Bay · New York

Crab Creek

41.05°N · 72.37°W · Bay · Peconic and Gardiners Bays

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Black sea bass

81/100Great
Now
735 AM EST
Best window
6-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High2.2 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 13 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score77Great
Tide1.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward NNW
Wind4 kn Wgusts 13 · steady
Air temp48°Cool
WeatherClear19% cloud
Water59°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Scup 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 Scup is best here

Shoulder season for Scup · 3 more weeks at shoulder

Scup season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Scup · 3 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Scup in New York →

Spot profile

Crab Creek

Depth
1-40 ftDrop-off
Structure
Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonScup

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 Crab Creek

Crab Creek is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 1-40 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are scup, black sea bass and spot. It is peak season now for black sea bass, tautog, spotted seatrout and striped bass, and shoulder season for scup, spot, weakfish and red drum. Scup peak from June through October. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November. Spot peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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

  • Crab Creek Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    73
    Top: ScupShoulder season
    • Scup 73
    • Striped bass 68
    • Black sea bass 64

    8 kt WSWL 11:00 AM · 0.5 ftH 5:15 PM · 2.5 ft

  • West Neck Harbor

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    72
    Top: ScupShoulder season
    • Scup 72
    • Spot 67
    • Striped bass 67

    8 kt WSWL 11:11 AM · 0.5 ftH 5:37 PM · 2.5 ft

  • West Neck Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    70
    Top: ScupShoulder season
    • Scup 70
    • Striped bass 70
    • Spotted seatrout 65

    8 kt WSWL 10:23 AM · 0.5 ftH 4:52 PM · 2.6 ft

  • 70
    Top: ScupShoulder season
    • Scup 70
    • Striped bass 65
    • Spot 63

    8 kt WSWL 11:00 AM · 0.5 ftH 5:15 PM · 2.5 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.