Waterlands

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Little tunnyPeak season

Channel · New York

Reynolds Channel

40.59°N · 73.67°W · Channel · South Shore Bays from Jones Inlet through Shinnecock Bay

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Best score today · 7 AM · Little tunny

68/100Great
Now
5211 AM EDT
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.2 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score52Good
Tide1.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward W
Wind11 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateRough4.9 ft · 7 s
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water67°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in New York

Spot profile

Reynolds Channel

Depth
4-25 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · slope
Season
Peak seasonLittle tunny

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 Reynolds Channel

Reynolds Channel is a channel in South Shore Bays from Jones Inlet through Shinnecock Bay, New York. Depth is 4-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are sheepshead, summer flounder and black sea bass. It is peak season now for sheepshead, summer flounder, little tunny and scup, and shoulder season for black sea bass, striped bass, bluefish and tautog. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Summer flounder peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Island Park Harbor

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    58
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 58
    • Sheepshead 57
    • Black sea bass 53

    11 kt NEL 12:11 PM · 0.8 ftH 6:37 PM · 4.3 ft

  • Broad Channel

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    54
    Top: SheepsheadPeak season
    • Sheepshead 54
    • Summer flounder 54
    • Black sea bass 52

    11 kt NEL 12:18 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:32 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Wreck Lead Channel

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    54
    Top: SheepsheadPeak season
    • Sheepshead 54
    • Summer flounder 54
    • Black sea bass 52

    11 kt NEL 12:18 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:32 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Hog Island Channel

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    54
    Top: SheepsheadPeak season
    • Sheepshead 54
    • Summer flounder 54
    • Black sea bass 52

    11 kt NEL 12:11 PM · 0.8 ftH 6:37 PM · 4.3 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.