Hudson River Fishing Report - September 28, 2025

Artificial Lure here with your Hudson River fishing report for Sunday, September 28th, 2025. New York City woke up under patchy morning fog, which cleared into cloudy skies by midday. You’re looking at a sunrise at 6:57am and sunset tonight at 6:53pm. Temperatures are hanging in the mid-70s. Winds are light and variable—ideal for casting without fighting the breeze. Today’s tide in the Lower Hudson around Battery Park shows high water mid-morning, with ebbing tide through most of the afternoon. That means prime time for stripers and blues is right after the tide flip, especially on those slacker waters just before the current starts to rip. Striped bass action has picked up as the water cools into fall. Reports from local regulars put most catches on the outgoing tide tight to structure—think piers, bridge pilings, and rock edges in Riverside Park or off the piers near West 79th Street. Liveline bunker are working best, but fresh-cut menhaden or live eels always score. Folks tossing 3D bionic swim shads or blue-white bucktail jigs have landed keeper-size bass throughout the early morning hours, with artificials especially reliable when working moving water near embankments. Bluefish have been schooling with the stripers. Anglers drifting chunked bunker off the South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn waterfront have found packs of blues blitzing bait at first light. For blues, swap to metal spoons like the classic Kastmaster or heavy-duty diamond jigs. If you’re casting plastics, stick to darker colors—black/blue flake or green pumpkin/chartreuse combos have reliably triggered strikes. There’s still a shot at bigger blues nosing into the Hudson from the salt, especially if you’re fishing deep structure in the shipping channels. Reports from up north near the George Washington Bridge show scattered catches of white perch and the occasional catfish, mostly on bloodworms or nightcrawlers rigged below slip floats. Fluke bites are fading as water temps dip, but you might still connect with keeper fluke dragging Gulp! swimming mullet around muddy drop-offs just south of Pier 40. For bait, nothing beats fresh bunker or bloodworms for stripers and perch—plus, shrimp or cut squid for bottom dwellers near the Harlem River confluence. For artificials, anglers are slinging multi-hook bionic baits and 3D swimbaits with decent success, particularly on cloudier mornings when fish are less wary. Quick-strike fly rigs are picking up smaller schoolies along weed beds—try a Baby Bluegill pattern if you’re fishing ultralight near the shoreline. Two hot spots to try today: - Pier 25: There’s been good flow and recent catches of stripers and blues, especially around mid-tide. - West 79th Street Boat Basin: Known for reliable fall surface action as bass chase baitfish on the outgoing tide. Overall, expect moderate fish activity through most zones, with best results around tide changes and shaded structure. If you get there early or visit toward dusk, you’ll likely This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.