Stripers, Cats, & Late Fall Bites: Fishing the Hudson River Around NYC

Artificial Lure here with your Saturday, November 15th, 2025, Hudson River fishing report out of New York City. **Sunrise is 6:42 AM and sunset hits at 4:38 PM, so you’ve got a short but solid window.** Tidal swings are moderate today: high tide comes in at 4:36 AM and 4:23 PM, with lows around 10:46 AM. That means your best river action lines up with those moving tides, right around dawn and again in late afternoon, especially if you catch that slack turning back to ebb or flood, according to NOAA Tide Predictions and Tide-Forecast. **Weather’s shaping up mostly clear and chilly.** Overnight lows flirt with the lower 40s and you might get a northwest breeze in the morning, calming down to a brisk but fishable 10–15 knots by afternoon, based on the latest National Weather Service marine forecast. Dress warm, especially if you’re launching out from the piers—wind can bite. **Fish are on the late fall pattern.** Recent reports from local tackle shops say schoolies—those smaller striped bass—are still piling in strong below the George Washington Bridge, particularly first light, with a few legal keepers caught around the boat basins. There was a solid run of bluefish last week but their numbers have thinned out, while white perch are moving in near Piermont and the Tappan Zee. Catfish and eels are still hitting in quieter coves, especially as dusk falls. Folks have also been bragging about some **outsize channel cats caught this past week** near the mouth of Spuyten Duyvil Creek using cut bunker and chunked herring. _Hudson Valley’s Premier Outdoor Sporting Goods Store_ notes a late push of smallmouth and largemouth bass from the brackish backwaters, especially during the sunny warmups, though action is more hit and miss as temps drop. **Best lures and baits:** Locals are crushing with 4- to 6-inch soft plastics in bunker or white, on three-quarter ounce jig heads, particularly when bounced slowly along ledges or channel drop-offs. Swim shads and Storm Wildeye-style paddle tails have been the ticket for stripers. If you’re a bait angler, fresh chunk bunker, eels on circle hooks, and big nightcrawlers for perch and bullhead should bring you action, especially on moving tide. *Hotspots to try today:* - West 79th Street Boat Basin for early schoolie bass on outgoing tide - Piermont Pier, especially the west end, for multi-species action on bait - Spuyten Duyvil for deep channel cats and a shot at perch near the pilings On the New Jersey side, the Edgewater bulkheads have produced stripers and the odd late blue at dusk—if you don’t mind a little hike for access. Remember, water clarity can swing quick this time of year after a storm or strong wind, so bring chartreuse and white patterns for plastics if it muddies up. And always check your local regs—striped bass are still catch and release only in most zones this far upriver, and NY DEC has officers out. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Hudson River fishing report. Don’t forget to subs This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.