Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Channel · New York

North Race

40.98°N · 72.47°W · Channel · Peconic and Gardiners Bays

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · King mackerel

72/100Great
Now
334 PM EDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.9 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score33Fair
Tide0.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind19 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 4 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast89% cloud
Water69°FObserved

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

North Race

Depth
3-20 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
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 North Race

North Race is a channel in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 3-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, summer flounder and spot. It is peak season now for scup, summer flounder, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for black sea bass, weakfish, striped bass and Atlantic croaker. Scup peak from June through October. Summer flounder peak from June through September. Spot peak from August 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.
Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Robbins Island Rock

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    55
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 55
    • Black sea bass 46
    • Little tunny 46

    19 kt NEH 9:53 PM · 2.9 ftL 3:57 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Cutchogue Harbor

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    53
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 53
    • Spot 50
    • Sheepshead 49

    19 kt NEH 9:53 PM · 2.9 ftL 3:57 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Horseshoe Cove

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    52
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 52
    • Spot 46
    • Summer flounder 46

    19 kt NEH 9:53 PM · 2.9 ftL 3:57 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Marratooka Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    49
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 49
    • Red drum 48
    • Scup 46

    19 kt NEH 9:53 PM · 2.9 ftL 3:57 AM · 0.6 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.