Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

ScupPeak season

Bay · New York

Northwest Harbor

41.02°N · 72.25°W · Bay · Peconic and Gardiners Bays

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 PM · Spot

86/100Epic
Now
6610 AM EDT
Best window
4-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Low0.9 ft

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

Notify me when Northwest Harbor scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score66Great
Tide0.9 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward N
Wind10 kn NNWgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy36% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Scup is best here

Peak season for Scup · 6 more weeks at peak

Scup season by week of the year. Peak season for Scup · 6 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Scup in New York

Spot profile

Northwest Harbor

Depth
7-10 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 Northwest Harbor

Northwest Harbor is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 7-10 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, black sea bass, cobia and king mackerel. 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

  • Cedar Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 59
    • Red drum 58

    10 kt NNWH 4:26 PM · 2.7 ftL 10:54 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Mashomack Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 59
    • Red drum 58

    10 kt NNWH 4:44 PM · 2.6 ftL 11:27 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Sag Harbor Bay

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Red drum 63
    • Spot 63

    10 kt NNWH 4:44 PM · 2.6 ftL 11:27 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Barcelona Bank

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    60
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 60
    • Summer flounder 58
    • Scup 57

    10 kt NNWH 4:26 PM · 2.7 ftL 10:54 PM · 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.