Waterlands

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BluefishShoulder season

Bay · New York

Goose Creek

41.05°N · 72.42°W · Bay · Peconic and Gardiners Bays

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · Bluefish

71/100Great
Now
585 PM EDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score58Good
Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward SE
Wind19 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here

Shoulder season for Bluefish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Bluefish in New York

Spot profile

Goose Creek

Depth
4-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonBluefish

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 Goose Creek

Goose Creek is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 4-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for scup, spot, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, black sea bass and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
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

  • Harpers Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Scup 58
    • Striped bass 58

    19 kt NEH 9:10 PM · 2.6 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Corey Creek

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Spot 63
    • Red drum 60

    19 kt NEH 9:10 PM · 2.6 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Southold Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    63
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 63
    • Little tunny 62
    • Spot 61

    19 kt NEH 9:10 PM · 2.6 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Town Creek

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    63
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 63
    • Spot 61
    • Red drum 58

    19 kt NEH 9:10 PM · 2.6 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.5 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.