- SALTWATER SPECIES -

Striped Bass

You can catch Striped Bass in NYC anytime of year, however the Spring - Fall are the best. The migratory populations move South and Offshore during the Winter months, while the Residents move into brackish water like the East River, Jamaica Bay, and the Hudson. Then Spring begins:

Spring (March - May) - Pre-Spawn / Spawn. The resident Striped Bass wake up in the city when the water temps hit around 45F. But you will want to look for an overall warming trend. This typically happens in late April. Between April and May the migratory striper will move into the coast from offshore to spawn. Typically entering Chesapeake bay but the upper Hudson river is a major spawing ground. So the larger breeding females will move through NYC North into the Hudson. Once the females have spawned they will exit the Hudson river and swim back through NYC throughout May and June (depending on the year). There are additional spawning grounds inside of NYC like Jamaica Bay. 

Summer (June - August) - Post-Spawn. The striped bass will hang around the city between June and August before heading north as the ocean water temperature gets too warm (around 74F). Many will stick around the city and reside, getting more active again in September. 

Fall (September - November) - The "Fall Run" is a Southern migration pattern as the water cools in the north for Winter. This usually begins in October and will continue until December, depending on the year. The Striped Bass will swim south Offshore and along the Coastline to warmer water.

Winter - The Striped Bass either reside in the city or continue to move South/ Offshore. 

Tautog

Tautog are in the Wrasse family of fish. Some will reside year round in NYC but most will spend the Winter months off shore in deeper water. 

In the Spring they make the return. 

NYC has a short one month long Spring Tautog season, with the last week of it being most productive. In the Spring the bite is very slow. The water is still cold and clear. So the Tautog can get a clear visual of your bait and are also moving with a slow metabolism to feed. 

But they do bite and you can be successful with soft baits like Clam and Shrimp. At some point during the warming of the water the Tautog spawn.

Tautog are a slow growing species. A nine inch Tautog is 3 years old. And a 6 year old Tautog is fifteen inches. Pretty slow.

After spawning in the Spring, some stick around the city for the Summer and some go back to colder water. 

The Rivers and Jamaica Bay act as nurseries throughout the season and it not uncommon to catch small Tautog as by catch during the Summer. 

One thing to keep in mind is Tautog are dormant at night and you cannot catch them. As the sun sets in NYC, they will seek holes and cover from predators and sleep. 

The last hour of light the bite really slows down. The most active time to fish for them at Sunrise throughout the last hour before dark. 

Tautog are not the fastest swimmers but are very agile and will use structure for safety. They also feed primarily on mollusks and have strong teeth for breaking clams, barnacles, crabs, mussels. They are opportunistic and will occasionally take swim baits and artificial lures, but for the most part crabs work best. Shrimp works great too.

In the Fall the Tautog season opens up and they are very active. As the water cools off, they will feed heavily. This is when crabs and hard baits work best. They are also staged both shallow and in deep water so you can target them all over the city. 

Around Mid-December the Tautog get sluggish and either leave the city to deeper water or become less active. Then in the Spring it starts all over.

Underwater Tautog Bait Test & Feeding Behavior Video's

Bluefish

Yearly migratory species to NYC waters. They usually move in when the water trends upwards toward 55F and increasing. By mid-May they are spread out around the city and can be caught in the Bays, rivers, harbors and ocean. 

Bluefish are fast swimmers and feed visually. Using a rattles, flashy or bright colored lures work best. 

Fluke (Summer Flounder)

Fluke a yearly migratory species to NYC water. Every Spring they arrive in tune with the Bluefish. Usually found shallow in mud flats in May before spreading out throughout the city all Summer. Fluke are ambush predators. They can change color to mimic the surrounding bottom tone to camouflage before striking prey. 

This color changing technique is done with chromatophore skin cells and are the same ones that Octopus use. The brain of the Fluke sends a signal through nerves and muscles to the chromatophores. The chromatophores are full of sacs of color pigments that will change as the muscles expand and contract. When the muscle tightens, the sac stretches out and spreads the color pigments. Then when the muscle relaxes, the colors fade back to the chromatophore sac.  

Black Sea Bass

Black Sea Bass are in the same family as Grouper. 

Sea Bass will usually spawn in the Spring and juvenile Sea Bass can be caught all Summer into the Fall throughout the city. Offshore you can catch bigger sea bass in deep water. 

They usually arrive to NYC in May with the Bluefish. Black Sea Bass are hermaphrodites and will change from Females to Males at around age three to five. 

You can catch black sea bass throughout the Summer at the piers, docks, wrecks, jetties. They really take over the city, but it is tough to find a keeper size without a boat and deep water. 

Porgy

Porgy (Common Scup, Bream) roll into the city in the Spring and can be caught until the Fall. Porgy are in the Sparidae family and the common Scup in NYC usually max out around 16-18" (2-3lbs). Between the ages of 1-4 the Porgy grow to be about 10" and then growth slows down. A 16" Porgy is 10 years old. They are not very picky and will take a variety of bait like Worms, Crabs, Shrimp and Minnows. 

Weakfish

They can be caught Spring-Fall in the Ocean, Bays and Rivers. Weakfish are in the Sciaenidae family along with Croaker and Drum fish. The mouth is very fragile and will tear easily, giving them the nickname Weakfish. 

Winter Flounder

Winter Flounder is in the Pleuronectidae family which are flounder that have eyes on the right side. They are a cold water fish and roll into the city from the Fall-Spring. They will take a variety of bait including worms, shrimp, minnows. 

Oyster Toadfish

Oyster Toadfish are resident fish to NYC. They are bottom dwellers and can be found near structure like piers. Toadfish get there name from the wide toadlike mouth and frog like fog horn sound during mating calls. It is faily loud and can be heard outside of the water. They have a wide powerful jaw for crushing shellfish like Oyster. Toadfish are very hardy and can tollerate the pollution in the NYC water as well as having the ability to stay out of the water for several hours. Instead of traditional scales like most fish, Oyster Toadfish have a thick slime coat for protection. They also have venom within the spine which injects a sting similar to a bee. 

Cunner

Known in NYC as the Bergall, they are resident year round fish in the wrasse family. They can be found mixed in with Tautog throughout the season on pilings, piers, wrecks, or anything with heavy structure. The diet is also very similar to Tautog. In the Winter when the water dips below 40F, the Bergall will enter a dormant state until the water warms in the Spring.

Triggerfish

There are close to 40 different species of triggerfish throughout the world (Ballistidae). However NYC seems to get the Grey Triggerfish every year. The Triggerfish gets it name because of the top dorsal spines which can stand up and lock in place. To release the spine you have to first pull down the second "Trigger" spine which will unlock it. Triggerfish use these spines for defense from predators. They will swim into tight holes and lock the spine into place to hold as an anchor. 

They migrate into and spread out in the city around July, usually around until the beginning of Fall. 

Spanish Mackerel

Atlantic Spanish Mackerel are a seasonal migratory species to NYC. They show up in the middle of Summer when the water warms to 68F and leave as the water cools in the Fall. The Spanish Mackerel is a fast swimming pelagic species that feeds primarily in the upper water column. They are carnivorous feeders and seem to arrive when the rain bait is the main forage in NYC. You can catch them on a variety of lures but small shiney metal jigs work best.

Atlantic Bonito

The Atlantic Bonito tends to arrive in the Summer at the same time as the Spanish Mackerel. They are not very large around the NY harbor but they usually arrive in large numbers and can be caught with a variety of small metal jigs or soft plastics. 

Sundial Flounder (Window Pane) 

Sundial Flounder are a fairly cold water tolerant species in the left eye family of flounder (Scophthalmidae). They have no teeth and are usually found along the sandy bottoms and inlets. Sea worms and Shrimp work great for catching them or small bucktail and jig heads are another option. 

Northern Sea Robbin

Sea Robbin are a resident fish in NYC and can be found throughout the city. They have wide wing shaped designed pectoral fins and modified pelvic fins that look like legs to feel for food on the bottom. They will often use the swim bladder to make croaking/bark sounds when outside the water. This is also used for mating calls. 

White Perch

White Perch are a freshwater and brackish species of fish, a resident in NYC water. They are a cold water tolerant species in the Bass family (Morone Americana), the same family as Striped Bass. 

Sheepshead

Sheepshead have a long history in NYC and Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn is named after this fish. They are a Summer migratory species that arrives in July and stays until September when the water begins to cool. The fish in the video below was caught in mid-June so they do arrive sooner depending on the year. 

Sheepshead are in the Sparidae family which is shared with Porgy. They have large teeth used to break up crustaceans and can be found at the bridges, pilings, jetties, wrecks, or anything with heavy structure. They are mostly bottom feeding and the best baits to use are crab or shrimp. 

Hickory Shad

Hickory Shad are anadromous meaning they primarily live in Saltwater but spawn in Freshwater. They are a yearly migratory species to NYC along with American Shad (Closed from population decline). They are really fun to target with light tackle during the Fall run and will often be within close casting distance from the beach. They seem to like small presentations like tiny metal jigs (1-3") and sabiki rigs. 

False Albacore, Bluefin, Yellow fin Tuna 

Throughout the Summer to Fall NYC gets waves of migratory Tuna that swim close to the beaches and into the lower harbor. When the Menhaden are schooled close to shore in the Rockaway's you can see Bluefin tuna breaching and feeding from the beach. In the Fall, False Albacore feed heavily inshore and can be caught from the beaches, piers and jetties along the ocean. 

Sharks, Dogfish Smooth, Dogfish Spiny

Sharks are very common in NYC. Especially in the Summer when the water warms up above 75F. The smooth and spiny dogfish frequent around the city between the Spring and Fall. During the Summer months the species variety increases. With visitors like the Thresher, Dusky, Sand Tiger, Great White and many more. 

Atlantic Cod/ Tomcod

Atlantic Cod and Tomcod are part of the NYC fishing species list however the population numbers have decreased. The Atlantic Cod can be caught in deeper water in Winter but mainly offshore outside of the city boundary. The Tomcod are a cold weather Winter fish and are found in both the Hudson and NY Harbor. They have adapted to the PCB's and Dioxins that were dumped in the Hudson river between 1947 - 1977. 

Northern Puffer

Pufferfish are common throughout the Summer and Fall in NYC. Arriving in the Spring with the warming water trend, they have sharp beaks for breaking shells and crabs. For defense underwater they will inhale water and puff themselves up bigger, but out of water they will inhale air.

Northern Kingfish 

Northern Kingfish are in the Croaker and Drum family (Sciaenidae). They are a scavenger species and feed on a wide range of forage including shrimp, crab, worms and minnows. Northern Kingfish are a fast growing species and in the first year reach about 4-5 inches, then doubling the second year to 9-10 inches. They reach maturity at age 2-3 and reach around 18". They unfortunately do not live longer than 4 years but because of quick maturity and spawning, they can increase population growth quickly. 

Black Drum

Black Drum make a summer visit to NYC to spawn in the early Summer. This is dependent on the conditions but with the warmer waters, they have been a frequent migratory visitor. 

Feather Blenny

Found next to Oyster Reefs, piers, rocks, seagrass and anywhere with tight structure. They are a small but territorial reef species that feeds on crustaceans and fish. The name is from the large Cirri appendages that stick out of the top of its head. They resemble flowing eyebrow feathers but are used practically for senses like feeling movement of nearby predators. 

Northern Stargazer

Northern Stargazer is an ambush predator and can be found along the NYC beaches and inlets in the Summer time. They will use sand to bury themselves and attack from below. They have both venom on their spines and an electrical organ near its eyes to deliver a shock. So you do have to be careful picking them up if you catch one, hold them from the belly or use a dehooker. 

Conger Eel

Although uncommon, the Conger Eel does migrate to NYC water. It can be found in the Summer around the East River and NY Harbor. 

Cobia

Cobia migrate to NYC water every Summer and can be found inshore close to bait schools like menhaden. 

Atlantic Sturgeon

Atlantic Sturgeon are NY's largest fish. Every Spring they move from the Atlantic ocean through NYC and up the Hudson River to spawn. They are an endangered species and cannot be targeted.

- FRESHWATER SPECIES -

Largemouth Bass

Largemouth Bass are some of the most fun freshwater fish to target in NYC. The freshwater ponds are barbless hooks so it adds a bit of difficulty. They can be caught as long as the lakes and ponds are not frozen over. 

Largemouth Bass are in the Sunfish family (Centrarchidae). They are predator fish and feed on a wide range of forage from minnows to insects to frogs. They can feed on anything that is half of its body length and sometimes even longer. The largemouth bass in NYC are the Northern strain, while states like Florida have the Southern strain. Same fish, just slightly different characteristics. The Northern strain of largemouth bass grows slower, and shorter, but is better adapted to cold water in the Northeast.

Crappie

Crappie fishing in NYC is a great option for getting out throughout the year. They bite from Winter through Summer and are very cold water tolerant. Crappie are in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae). The best times to catch them are early morning and sunset but they will bite throughout the day. 

Bluegill / Pumpkinseed

Bluegill and Pumpkinseed are both in the Sunfish family. They are omnivorous and very cold water tolerant. Both species can be caught throughout the year in the ponds and lakes in NYC. 

Yellow Perch

Yellow Perch are native to North America and NYC. They are cold water tolerant and can be caught all year. Yellow Perch are also a bait fish to the Largemouth Bass throughout the NYC lakes and ponds. 

Northern Snakehead

Northern Snakehead are an invasive species to NYC. They have made it into some of NYC's waterways through human introduction. 

Chain Pickerel

Chain Pickerel are less common throughout the NYC ponds but there is a small population of them and growing. A few of the freshwater spots in the city are stocked with pickerel and they make a challenging fight on barbless hooks. 

Common Carp / Koi

Common Carp and Koi can be found at most of the lakes and ponds throughout NYC. They will sometimes take artificial lures and small fly hooks. Most are targeted with corn and carp designed baits like boilies.