Late Fall Grind for Stripers on the Hudson

This is Artificial Lure with your Hudson River, New York City fishing report. We’re in that hard late‑fall slide now, and the river’s got that steel‑gray, almost glassy look on the slack. According to Weather Underground’s NYC waterfront forecast, we’re looking at cold air in the mid‑30s to low‑40s, light northwest breeze early, picking up a bit by afternoon. Sunrise was right around 7:05 a.m., sunset will be just after 4:28 p.m., so your window is short and low‑light matters. NOAA’s Battery tide table shows a predawn low followed by a mid‑morning flood, topping out late morning, then ebbing into the evening. That first push of incoming around the piers and creek mouths is the prime bite; once the current really cranks on the ebb, it’s mostly a hold‑tight game along structure. Fish activity’s classic early‑December pattern: - **Striped bass**: Mostly schoolies with a few slot fish. Local pier regulars from Pier 25 and Pier 84 report bass picking during the last of the flood and first of the ebb, not big numbers, but steady ones if you grind. - **Schoolie action**: Light tackle guys on the Jersey side around Hoboken and Exchange Place have been sliding a handful of fish a tide, mostly after dark. - **By‑catch**: A few white perch and the odd channel cat coming from the back of small marinas and the creeks feeding the river. Best offerings right now: - **Artificial lures**: - 4–5" soft plastic paddletails on 3/8–1 oz jigheads in chartreuse/white or olive over white. - Slim metal (AVAs, Kastmasters) for when the current’s ripping; vertical jigging tight to pilings is working. - Small swimmers like SP Minnows or X‑Rap style plugs for the nighttime crew along the bulkheads. - **Bait**: - Fresh bunker chunks if you can get them, otherwise frozen will still pull a bite on the edges of the channel. - Bloodworms and sandworms on hi‑lo rigs for perch and small bass around the shallower piers. A couple of hot spots to hit: - **Pier 25 / Pier 26, Lower Manhattan** – Good current seams on the flood, plenty of structure, and consistent schoolie reports after dark on small paddletails bounced slow along bottom. - **Hoboken waterfront / Maxwell Place to the W Hoboken** – Classic late‑fall striper run‑through zone. Fish the edges of the ferry wash and the points that stick into the river; metal and soft plastics on the drop have been the ticket. Tactics for today: - Focus on the **last two hours of the incoming and first hour of the ebb**. - Downsize and slow down: long pauses on the plug, slow roll on the paddletail just ticking bottom. - At night, keep it simple: black or dark‑back plugs pulled painfully slow along the shadow lines. Bundle up, watch that wet decking, and give the boats and ferries plenty of room. The fish are still here if you are willing to grind in the cold. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Gre This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.