Best tautog (blackfish) lakes in New York
52 New York waters hold tautog (blackfish), 52 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — 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.
- Lower Bay — 104 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Great Peconic Bay — 42 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
- Smithtown Bay — 74 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Napeague Bay — 62 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- South Oyster Bay — 34 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Sloop Channel — 48 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Hempstead Harbor — 38 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
- Reynolds Channel — 67 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Huntington Bay — 54 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Rockaway Inlet — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Beach Channel — 68 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Manhasset Bay — 54 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Eastchester Bay — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Coecles Harbor — 28 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Three Mile Harbor — 14 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- False Hook Channel — 33 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Port Jefferson Harbor — 51 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Lloyd Harbor — 28 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
- Pierhead Channel — 56 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #19: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Bay Ridge Channel — 51 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Lake Montauk — 14 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #21: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Mamaroneck Harbor — 21 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #22: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Northwest Harbor — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #23: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- East Rockaway Inlet — 41 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #24: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Fire Island Inlet — 56 ft max · survey depth data · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #25: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
…plus 27 more New York waters holding tautog (blackfish).
Find the closest tautog (blackfish) waters to you →
How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See New York waters with public access data
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