Waterlands

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SheepsheadPeak season

Bay · New York

Flanders Bay

40.92°N · 72.59°W · Bay · Peconic and Gardiners Bays

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Best score today · 12 AM · Sheepshead

72/100Great
Now
637 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding2.3 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
Score63Good
Tide2.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind15 kn ENEgusts 20 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.1 ft · 5 s
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast96% cloud
Water71°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

Flanders Bay

Depth
7-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
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 Flanders Bay

Flanders Bay is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 7-9 ft, with a flat bottom. 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, black sea bass, striped bass and weakfish. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

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.
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

  • Browns Point

    Cape · 2.6 mi

    68
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 68
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 60

    15 kt ENEH 9:00 PM · 2.8 ftL 3:39 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Miamogue Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 60

    15 kt ENEH 9:00 PM · 2.8 ftL 3:39 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Iron Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Scup 61
    • Striped bass 59

    15 kt ENEH 9:00 PM · 2.8 ftL 3:39 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Reeves Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    66
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 66
    • Spot 64
    • Little tunny 63

    15 kt ENEH 9:00 PM · 2.8 ftL 3:39 AM · 0.4 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.