Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Bay · New York

Reeves Bay

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · King mackerel

64/100Good
Now
348 AM EDT
Best window
8 AM-12 PMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding2.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score34Fair
Tide2.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind17 kn NEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateRough4.1 ft · 6 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water68°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.

Source: NYSDEC · synced yesterday

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

Reeves Bay

Depth
3-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
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 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 scup, little tunny and sheepshead. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, sheepshead and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and tautog. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

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.
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

  • Browns Point

    Cape · 3.9 mi

    60
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 60
    • Scup 54
    • Striped bass 54

    17 kt NEH 9:36 AM · 2.5 ftL 3:55 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Miamogue Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    58
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 58
    • Scup 54
    • Striped bass 52

    17 kt NEH 9:36 AM · 2.5 ftL 3:55 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Iron Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    57
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 57
    • Striped bass 53
    • Scup 52

    17 kt NEH 9:36 AM · 2.5 ftL 3:55 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Flanders Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    57
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 57
    • Little tunny 54
    • Sheepshead 53

    17 kt NEH 9:36 AM · 2.5 ftL 3:55 PM · 0.5 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.