Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Cape · New York

Crab Creek Point

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · King mackerel

77/100Great
Now
359 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High2.5 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Oct 2 · 7 PM

Time7P
Score35Fair
Tide2.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.3 kn · toward NNW
Wind6 kn SSWgusts 11 · steady
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherOvercast93% cloud
Water65°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

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

King mackerel in New York

Spot profile

Crab Creek Point

Depth
2-70 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
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 Crab Creek Point

Crab Creek Point is a cape in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth in the nearest water is 2-70 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, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and sheepshead, and shoulder season for striped bass, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and bluefish. 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

  • 65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Scup 64
    • Atlantic croaker 53

    16 kt NEL 3:19 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:35 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Crab Creek

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 62
    • Atlantic croaker 50

    16 kt NEL 3:19 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:35 AM · 2.4 ft

  • West Neck Harbor

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Scup 63
    • Atlantic croaker 51

    16 kt NEL 3:30 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:57 AM · 2.4 ft

  • West Neck Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 62
    • Atlantic croaker 50

    16 kt NEL 2:41 AM · 0.6 ftH 9:06 AM · 2.6 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.