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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 3 AM · Red drum
- Now
- 762 PM EDT
- Best window
- 2-11 PMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Horseshoe Cove 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
95Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 8 kt NWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
78Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Scup
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Scup is best here
Peak season for Scup · 6 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Horseshoe Cove
- Depth
- 3-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak 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 Horseshoe Cove
Horseshoe Cove is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, sheepshead and spot. It is peak season now for scup, sheepshead, spot and little tunny, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, cobia, weakfish and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September. 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Cutchogue Harbor78
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: SheepsheadPeak season- Sheepshead 78
- Spot 78
- Scup 77
8 kt NWH 6:14 PM · 2.8 ftL 12:46 AM · 0.8 ft
- Hog Neck Bay77
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 77
- Spot 76
- Little tunny 75
8 kt NWH 5:31 PM · 2.5 ftL 12:08 AM · 0.7 ft
- North Race76
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 76
- Spot 75
- Sheepshead 74
8 kt NWH 6:14 PM · 2.8 ftL 12:46 AM · 0.8 ft
- Little Peconic Bay76
Bay · 2.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 76
- Sheepshead 74
- Little tunny 73
8 kt NWH 6:14 PM · 2.8 ftL 12:46 AM · 0.8 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.