Waterlands

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SheepsheadPeak season

Bay · New York

Reeves Bay

40.91°N · 72.62°W · Bay · Peconic and Gardiners Bays

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Best score today · 7 PM · Scup

80/100Great
Now
6411 AM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score64Good
Tide1.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward E
Wind12 kn ENEgusts 19 · easing
Sea stateModerate2.3 ft · 5 s
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy70% cloud
Water73°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sheepshead is best here

Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak

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

Sheepshead in New York

Spot profile

Reeves Bay

Depth
3-7 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 Reeves Bay

Reeves Bay is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are sheepshead, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for sheepshead, spot, little tunny and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and weakfish. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Iron Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Sheepshead 60
    • Spot 59

    12 kt ENEL 1:07 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:03 PM · 2.9 ft

  • Miamogue Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Sheepshead 60
    • Spot 59

    12 kt ENEL 1:07 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:03 PM · 2.9 ft

  • Browns Point

    Cape · 3.9 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Sheepshead 60
    • Spot 59

    12 kt ENEL 1:07 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:03 PM · 2.9 ft

  • Flanders Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    64
    Top: SheepsheadPeak season
    • Sheepshead 64
    • Spot 64
    • Little tunny 63

    12 kt ENEL 1:07 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:03 PM · 2.9 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.