Hudson River Early June: Schoolies, Tides, and Dawn Gold

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Hudson River NYC fishing report. We’re sitting on a classic early‑June pattern. According to the National Weather Service New York office, we’ve got a mild start, light west to southwest breeze around 5–10 knots this morning, picking up a bit this afternoon, with air temps topping out in the low 70s. Skies are partly cloudy, barometer steady – that’s a green light for putting fish in the net. NOAA tide tables for the Battery show an early morning low followed by a mid‑morning flood, with another low pushing through late afternoon. Up around George Washington Bridge and Yonkers, those turns happen a little later. On the Hudson, that **first push of incoming** and the **last of the outgoing** have been money – current’s moving but not ripping, perfect for ambush bites along the edges. Sunrise over the city came in just after 5:20 a.m., with sunset around 8:25 p.m., giving a long, juicy crepuscular window. Low‑light periods have been prime for the better fish, especially around structure and current seams. Recent dock talk and local reports from pier regulars and party boats running the river say the main run of big migratory striped bass has mostly slid north and out, but there are still **schoolie stripers** and the occasional mid‑20s‑inch fish hanging around the city stretches. Anglers casting from Pier 25, Pier 40, and along Riverside Park have been picking a few bass at dawn and after dark. The summer crew is moving in now: **striped bass, schoolie bluefish, porgies (scup), and some weakfish** in the mix, plus the usual mix of white perch and panfish up in the brackish pockets. Guys soaking bait off the piers report short but steady flurries when the tide starts to flip, especially on that incoming. Best producers lately: - **Lures:** - 3–5 inch soft plastics on 3/8–1/2 oz jig heads in white, bunker, and olive. Swim them just off bottom along the current breaks. - Small metal spoons and tins for bluefish and schoolie bass, especially when you see bait dimpling on the surface. - Slim hard jerkbaits and shallow swimmers in bone or “ghost” patterns around first light tight to the rocks and pilings. - **Bait:** - Fresh or well‑frozen bunker chunks for stripers and blues; fish them on a fish‑finder rig in the channel edges. - Bloodworms and sandworms for mixed bag – schoolie bass, perch, and the odd weakfish. - Clam and squid strips for porgies and assorted bottom life off the piers. On the **activity side**, that mid‑tide movement is key. When the Hudson looks like a lake, the bite’s been sluggish. As soon as you see that surface start to slide and little rips form off pilings, things wake up. Watch for bunker flips or small spearing spraying; if you see birds dip just off the piers, get a metal or paddle‑tail in there fast – that’s often small blues pushing bait. A couple of **local hot spots** worth your time: - **Pier 40 / Pier 26 area, Lower Manhattan:** Good access, plenty of current, and a mix of depth and structure. Great for schoolie stripers on soft plastics and chunk bait on the turn of the tide. - **Riverside Park around 79th–125th Street:** Rockier banks, eddies, and current seams. Walk‑and‑cast shoreline pattern with jigged soft plastics or small swimmers has been producing schoolie bass and occasional weakfish at dawn. - If you can get a boat or kayak out, the **channel edges off Hoboken and Jersey City** are holding fish along the drop‑offs; vertical jigging soft plastics on the tide change has been quietly consistent. Standard city‑river advice: bring a variety of weights to match the tide, keep an eye on boat traffic and ferry wakes, and swap out rusty hooks – these fish will show you every weakness in your gear once the current grabs your line. That’s your Hudson River NYC fishing rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn