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Best tautog (blackfish) lakes in New York

57 New York waters list tautog (blackfish) (official records or labelled estimates), 57 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The crab-crunching bulldog of northeast rocks — surgical bites, brutal first runs, and a face only a jetty could love.

1. Lower Bay — 104 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
2. Great Peconic Bay — 42 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
3. Smithtown Bay — 74 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
4. Napeague Bay — 62 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
5. Shinnecock Bay — 15 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
6. Bellport Bay — 14 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, WeakfishWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
7. South Oyster Bay — 34 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
8. Sloop Channel — 48 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
9. Hempstead Harbor — 38 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
10. Reynolds Channel — 67 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
11. Huntington Bay — 54 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
12. Rockaway Inlet — 60 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
13. Beach Channel — 68 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
14. Manhasset Bay — 54 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
15. Eastchester Bay — 40 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
16. Flanders Bay — 15 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
17. Coecles Harbor — 28 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
18. Three Mile Harbor — 14 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, WeakfishWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
19. False Hook Channel — 33 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #19: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
20. Port Jefferson Harbor — 51 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
21. Lloyd Harbor — 28 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #21: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
22. Pierhead Channel — 56 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #22: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
23. Bay Ridge Channel — 51 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #23: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
24. Lake Montauk — 14 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #24: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
25. Mamaroneck Harbor — 21 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #25: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site

…plus 32 more New York waters holding tautog (blackfish).

Find the closest tautog (blackfish) waters to you →

When to fish tautog (blackfish) in New York

• Spring 5–25 ft — Post-winter fish slide onto shallow rocks, jetties and mussel beds as the water warms — green crabs on a tog jig.
• Summer 10–35 ft — A steady resident bite around any hard structure — smaller fish, but always there for a crab bait.
• Fall 10–50 ft — The season — big whitechins stack on rock piles and wrecks; drop whole green crabs and hang on.
• Winter 30–70 ft — Fish go near-dormant on deep structure — a slow winter pick on calm, mild days.

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Tautog (Blackfish) elsewhere: Massachusetts · Connecticut · New Jersey · Rhode Island