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CobiaShoulder seasonChannel · New York
Island Channel
40.61°N · 73.88°W · Channel · South Shore Bays from Jones Inlet through Shinnecock Bay
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 4011 AM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Island Channel 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 · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
73Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
43Wind: 12 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 3.8 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Cobia 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 Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Island Channel
- Depth
- 6-35 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCobia
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 Island Channel
Island Channel is a channel in South Shore Bays from Jones Inlet through Shinnecock Bay, New York. Depth is 6-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, summer flounder and black sea bass. It is peak season now for spot, summer flounder, sheepshead and red drum, and shoulder season for black sea bass, weakfish, striped bass and bluefish. Spot peak from August through October. Summer flounder peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Cobia
- Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
- 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.
- 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
- Long Pol Bar62
Bar · 0.4 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 62
- Bluefish 59
- Spanish mackerel 57
12 kt ENEL 12:17 PM · 1.1 ftH 6:46 PM · 5.7 ft
- Mill Basin61
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 61
- Spot 60
- Bluefish 57
12 kt ENEL 12:13 PM · 1.1 ftH 6:47 PM · 5.7 ft
- Big Fishkill Channel59
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 59
- Sheepshead 57
- Summer flounder 57
11 kt NEL 12:17 PM · 1.1 ftH 6:46 PM · 5.7 ft
- Big Channel57
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 57
- Summer flounder 55
- Black sea bass 54
11 kt NEL 12:05 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:18 PM · 5.5 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.