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BluefishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Bluefish
- Now
- 518 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 AM-1 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High2.4 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Smith Cove scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
23Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
63Wind: 14 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
85Water temp: 69°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 2.7 ftSeason & habitat · Bluefish
Species seasonality
68Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here
Shoulder season for Bluefish · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Smith Cove
- Depth
- 10-30 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonBluefish
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 Smith Cove
Smith Cove is a bay in Peconic and Gardiners Bays, New York. Depth is 10-30 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and sheepshead, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, striped bass and weakfish. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Bluefish
- Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
- 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.
- 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
- Congdons Creek71
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 71
- Spot 69
- Red drum 60
14 kt NEL 2:07 PM · 0.7 ftH 8:40 PM · 2.8 ft
- Dickerson Creek71
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 71
- Spot 69
- Red drum 60
14 kt NEL 2:07 PM · 0.7 ftH 8:40 PM · 2.8 ft
- Congdons Point65
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 65
- Spot 64
- Little tunny 62
14 kt NEL 2:07 PM · 0.7 ftH 8:40 PM · 2.8 ft
- Tyndal Point64
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 64
- Spot 62
- Little tunny 60
14 kt NEL 2:09 PM · 0.7 ftH 8:32 PM · 2.7 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.