UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
WeakfishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Weakfish
- Now
- 644 PM EDT
- Best window
- 4-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 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 · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.9 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
71Wind: 11 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
72Water temp: 70°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.1 ftSeason & habitat · Weakfish
Species seasonality
67Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Weakfish is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NYSDEC before you keep a fish.
Source: NYSDEC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Weakfish is best here
Shoulder season for Weakfish · 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 seasonWeakfish
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 little tunny, scup and spot. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, weakfish and black sea bass. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October.
Tackle & technique
- Weakfish
- Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Congdons Point78
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 78
- Scup 69
- Striped bass 68
11 kt NEH 7:54 PM · 2.7 ftL 1:58 AM · 0.7 ft
- Tyndal Point77
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 77
- Scup 68
- Striped bass 68
11 kt NEH 7:47 PM · 2.7 ftL 2:00 AM · 0.6 ft
- Congdons Creek74
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 74
- Red drum 73
- Spot 73
11 kt NEH 7:54 PM · 2.7 ftL 1:58 AM · 0.7 ft
- Dickerson Creek74
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 74
- Red drum 73
- Spot 73
11 kt NEH 7:54 PM · 2.7 ftL 1:58 AM · 0.7 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.