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Off Season and Winter Fishing NYC

Its Winter in NYC, 2026. We got a pretty decent cold spell, little warm up, and now we are back in cold times. So what do you do?

Most of the freshwater spots are half frozen, the saltwater spots are hovering around 38F and no herring around. The Tom cod bite is not happening anymore. The Atlantic cod is closed for emergency measures. Winter 26' is a tough one for the NYC angler. 

Cleaning your rods and reels doesn't take long. Not much fun either. So what do you do if your broke and cannot afford a fishing vacation like most of NYC?

I like to study. 

Growing up there was not as much information as there is today on the internet. And there are a lot of sources to reference and "fact" check. Instead of referencing  a concrete book that'll just become outdated, you can check multiple sources on the web. 

I also like to go out fishing with the intention of studying structure, not catching. You can get some pretty extreme tides in the Winter and on a full moon low tide, it can be a great time to study your favorite fishing spot. Cold water also means less algae and more clarity. Drop an underwater camera down on your favorite spot during slack tide and take a look at the structure. When the water stains up in the Summer, you'll have a better visual understanding of the spot.

Working on your casting accuracy is also another way to pass the time. Take your fishing setup to a field or yard and create a few targets to cast at. Maybe you've wanted to try fly fishing, the Winter is a great time to learn. Some pretty decent Winter trout opportunities outside the city too. Excellent steelhead if you're down for the drive. 

If you have never made a fishing lure before, it is very rewarding. Catching a fish on a lure you created adds another layer to the hunt. 

Silicon molds are really easy to make and 3d printers are available at most hobby stores. I've made a lot of lures by carving wood by hand and then transfering them to a silicon mold for pouring soft plastics. Works great. The fishing usually starts around early May in NYC, so you've got a little time to create something for the season. 

I used to use the long cure molds but there are newer two part rubber molds that cure quick like these Alumilite ones.

Then once you make a mold your happy with, you can customize plastisol colors and pigments. It is pretty fun and only requires a microwave and a few pyrex glasses. 

Winter Herring NYC 2026

Herring fishing is not looking great for 2026. They should be here by now but as I write this at the end of January it does not seem so. There may be some pockets of them around Jamaica Bay. If you have not frozen to the core trying to catch them, it could be a fun Winter NYC experience. Atlantic Herring migrate South from Maine every season for spawning. Bays and Estuaries like Jamaica Bay can be a great place to search. Using Sabiki Rigs with small size #8 hooks and a weight, can be a great starting point. Utilizing a flasher or silver spoon at the middle and end of the line can attract the herring to your rig. Another method can be submerging an underwater light or shining a bright spotlight into the water at night to attract them. There are also spoons with LED's attached that blink at night. You never know, its possible you could stumble on a nice school of herring. Since no one is really targetting them, you could have them all to yourself. 

Tidal Coefficient and The East River NYC

This may be the most important pattern tool for fishing the East River. There are other methods to break down the tides but the one major advantage of tidal coefficient in NYC, is the ability to plan for future fishing trips. 

Since Tidal Coefficient is a mathematical number range you can use it to build a spot library around the city. For example, you may notice that your favorite spot has a current speed that moves too quickly on a full moon (104 coefficient). But that same spot fishes great a week later when the coefficient lowers to 52. Well that makes it clear that when the tide is ripping on a 104, you should go fish somewhere else. OR change your technique. 

This number is very helpful for planning trips on the East River and you can narrow in a spot library that suites your fishing style. You can also use it to narrow in on your target species. For example, striped bass might love a faster tidal coefficient of 60-100, but are less active between 35-55 tidal coefficent. This might be a good time to switch to a slower swimming species like Tautog. 

Why Do Fish Like Structure?

Why do fish like structure like pilings, wrecks and rocks so much? Structure provides the walls and comfort like a house does to humans. Both predator and prey are attracted to structure for different reasons but for an angler, structure almost always holds fish. 

For prey species structure provides a break in the current, shadows for cover, micro organisms to feed on, small spaces to hide from predators. While predators use structure for ambush points, seeking prey, and current relief for rest. You probebly feel safer inside a room with walls at night, instead of in a wide open field. The same analogy can be applied to fish in the sea. 

Prey are more vulnerable to being eaten if they are in a wide open space without structure. So over time they have adapted to holding close to structure for safety. Predator species have learned that these areas hold prey species and will hang close by. These same ideas of walls for protection can be applied to spawning as well. A larger species may use structure to hold eggs from smaller species. While open water can be productive, structure usually holds fish. 

Olfaction and Gustation

I am sure you've all seen or purchased a "scented" lure, oil or bait for fishing. Its fairly common at tackle shops with Gulp! taking over the biodegradable scented market. It works and catches fish. Stinks pretty bad. But it does save you a trip to the bait shop. 

But why do scented lures work? 

Without getting too nerdy and complicated, fish use Olfaction for SMELL and Gustation for TASTE. 

But it does not work like humans in air. Try and visualize yourself in the water as a fish.

The water is dense, there is current flow, and fish are in constant locomotion. This is not like a human that can stop and sit down.

For Olfaction the fish uses current to flow water through its nostrils and detect chemicals.

For Gustation the fish uses its mouth, skin, whiskers, fins, and tongue for a final taste evaluation. It will detect amino acids for food however it can detect many chemicals including danger. This is very different from human taste which is done from buds in the mouth. Gustation with fish can be done from a distance. 

So do fish taste or smell, or both?

From what I've gathered there seems to be a lot of misinformation.

My opinion is that fish know when something is funky. 

Try and chum the water with some funky old bait. It ain't going to work as well as fresh cast net chum. Especially if you're matching the hatch. 

So we can rule out that fish know when NOT to eat something. 

But there are so many other variables to predator fish hunting abilities. Sight and vibration. So many!

So for a lure company to say scent matters, I don't know, does it really? Whatevers in Gulp! works well and that Procure stuff works too. But neither work as well as natural bait.

I can't seem to discern Smell and Taste with fish, is there really a difference if Gustation can be achieved without physical touch? Then why does Olfaction matter, wouldn't Taste be the reason Gulp! works?

I mean think about it. Being able to taste a whole wall of candy or fresh pizza without physically touching it. Apparently fish can do that before eating.

The Aught (/0) System

It is pretty cool fishing gets its own terminology for numbering. Probably confusing at first glance but it basically looks like this with fishing hooks:

BIGGER->  6/0, 5/0, 4/0, 3/0, 2/0, 1/0 > #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6  <-SMALLER

6/0 is much larger than #6

#6 is much larger than #16

But why is this whole system neccessary?

I don't know dawg. There are differences in the same hook sizes between the different manufacturers. Seems like there is no defined chart to use as a guide.

But I think if they didn't split the numbers up, there would be too many numbers.

A simple way to look at it would be: 

/0 size = larger "game fish" hooks

# size = smaller "fly" hooks. 

Bob Aquatic Biggest Bergall Tournament 2025

Congrats to the winners and thank you to everyone that attended. It was a successful event and cannot wait to host the next tournament.