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SheepsheadPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 633 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-10 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Gardiners Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Wednesday, Sep 30 · 4 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.4 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
70Water temp: 65°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
74Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: NYSDEC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sheepshead is best here
Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Gardiners Bay
- Depth
- 15-20 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 Gardiners Bay
Gardiners Bay is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and sheepshead. It is peak season now for spot, scup, sheepshead and red drum, and shoulder season for weakfish, Atlantic croaker, bluefish and striped bass. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Bostwick Bay70
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 70
- Scup 67
- Sheepshead 65
12 kt NEH 5:09 AM · 2.3 ftL 11:15 AM · 1.1 ft
- Cherry Harbor68
Bay · 2.0 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 68
- Scup 65
- Sheepshead 64
15 kt NEH 5:04 AM · 2.1 ftL 10:56 AM · 1.1 ft
- Crow Shoal63
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 63
- Scup 61
- Little tunny 60
12 kt NEH 5:04 AM · 2.1 ftL 10:56 AM · 1.1 ft
- Cherry Hill Point63
Cape · 1.0 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 63
- Spot 63
- Scup 61
12 kt NEH 5:04 AM · 2.1 ftL 10:56 AM · 1.1 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.