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 · 12 AM · Spot

64/100Good
Now
521 PM EDT
Best window
5-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 28 · 2 PM

Time2P
Score63Good
Tide3.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward E
Wind17 kn NEgusts 25 · steady
Sea stateRough4.1 ft · 6 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast39% chance of rain
Water64°FModel

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, little tunny and summer flounder. It is peak season now for sheepshead, little tunny, summer flounder and scup, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and tautog. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Little tunny peak from September through October. Summer flounder peak from June through September.

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.
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.
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

  • Miamogue Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    55
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 55
    • Sheepshead 47
    • Bluefish 46

    19 kt ENEL 3:55 PM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 PM · 2.8 ft

  • Iron Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    54
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 54
    • Sheepshead 47
    • Striped bass 47

    19 kt ENEL 3:55 PM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 PM · 2.8 ft

  • Browns Point

    Cape · 3.9 mi

    54
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 54
    • Sheepshead 47
    • Bluefish 45

    19 kt ENEL 3:55 PM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 PM · 2.8 ft

  • Flanders Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    52
    Top: SheepsheadPeak season
    • Sheepshead 52
    • Little tunny 51
    • Summer flounder 48

    19 kt ENEL 3:55 PM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 PM · 2.8 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.