Stripers and Blues Invade the Hudson for Epic Fall Run - An Angler's Guide to the NYC Bite

Hudson River anglers, it’s Artificial Lure here with your Saturday morning report straight from the heart of New York City, September 13, 2025. The sun rose at 6:32am and will set this evening at 7:10pm, giving you a solid window for both dawn patrol and that golden hour bite before dusk. Today’s weather is serving up perfect fishing conditions: mainly sunny, high around 70 degrees, and a gentle WNW breeze topping at 8 mph—just enough to ripple the surface, but not enough to throw off your casting. Tide for Battery Park showed a low at 6:45am, with incoming water peaking just shy of 1:00pm. That rising tide means bait is moving and predatory fish are on the prowl.

There’s plenty of buzz in local circles about the fall “second season”—striped bass and bluefish activity is ratcheting up as water temps drop back into the upper 60s, prime for migrating predators. According to reports from On The Water, peanut bunker and juvenile herring are flooding the lower river and harbor, drawing in schools of eager stripers and the occasional wolfpack of bluefish. Yesterday and this morning, several regulars working the piers off West Harlem and around Pier 96 were into a mix of bass and blues—nothing trophy size, but mostly 3- to 8-pounders, with a couple over the slot released from shore.

Best bets for lures right now are anything that mimics local bait: try **white or bone SP Minnows**, **1-ounce swim shads**, and **bucktail jigs** tipped with curly tails. Early risers drifting the mud flats around the George Washington Bridge have seen success with **live eels** and **fresh bunker chunks**, especially on the incoming tide, while those tossing soft plastics in the shadow lines under the piers are reporting steady action after sundown.

Fluke season is winding down but still worth a shot in the slack water around the Battery; try **small jigging spoons** or **pink Gulp! grubs** bounced along the bottom. Some reports from the kayak crowd say there are still a few keeper weakfish mixed in, most caught near Governors Island after dark on soft plastics.

As for hot spots, **Pier 84 in Midtown** remains a consistent producer at dawn and dusk—keep your eyes peeled for surface busts as bass trap bunker pods against the bulkhead. **Riverbank State Park**, especially the rocks and pilings near 145th Street, is another reliable stretch when that incoming tide lines up with low-light hours. If you’re working from a boat, drifting near the mouth of the Harlem River offers great ambush points as bait flushes in.

Action may be heavy at times, but remember, most fish caught this week have been just under keeper size. Don’t be discouraged; that means bigger bass and blues are likely cruising close behind as the moon phase darkens and nights get longer. The ever-optimistic reports from theaverageangler.com say we’re shaping up for another classic fall run as more cold fronts approach.

So whether you’re casting lures at sunrise, drifting bait by moonlight, or just watching the skyline and tide roll by—this is the weekend to be out. Keep an eye on those birds and bait balls, and swap stories with your fellow anglers on the pier.

Thanks for tuning in to your Hudson River fishing report with Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss local bite updates, and most importantly—get out there and set the hook!

This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hudson River anglers, it's artificial lure. Here with your Saturday
morning report, straight from the heart of New York City,
September thirteenth, twenty twenty five. The sun rose at six
thirty two am and will set this evening at seven
to ten pm, giving you a solid window for both
dawn patrol and that golden hour bite before dusk. Today's

(00:21):
weather is serving up perfect fishing conditions, mainly sunny, high
around seventy degrees, and a gentle wws breeze topping at
eight miles per hour, just enough to ripple the surface
but not enough to throw off your casting. Tide for
Battery Parts showed a low at six forty five am,
with incoming water peaking just shy of one pm. That

(00:42):
rising tide means bait is moving and predatory fish are
on the prile. There's plenty of buzz in local circles
about the fall. Second season. Striped bass and bluefish activity
is ratcheting up as water temps drop back into the
upper sixties, prime for migrating predators. According to reports from
on the water, peanut bunker and juvenile herring are flooding

(01:03):
the Lower River and Harbor drawing in schools of eager
stripers in the occasional wolf pack of bluefish. Yesterday and
this morning, several regulars working the piers off West Harlem
and around Peer ninety six were into a mix of
bass and blues. Nothing trophy size, but mostly three to
eight pounders, with a couple over the slot released from shore.

(01:24):
Best bets for lures right now are anything that mimics
local bait. Try white or bone sp minnows, one out
swim shads, and bucktailed jigs tipped with curly tails. Early
risers drifting the mug flats around the George Washington Bridge
have seen success with live eels and fresh bunker chunks,
especially on the incoming tide, while those tossing soft plastics

(01:47):
in the shadow lines under the piers are reporting study
action after sundown. Fluke season is winding down, but still
worth a shot in the slack water around the battery.
Try small jigging spoons are pink gulp grubs bounced along
the bottom. Some reports from the kayak crowd say there
are still a few keeper weakfish mixed in. Most cought
near Governor's Island after dark on soft plastics. As for

(02:10):
hotspots Peer eighty four in Midtown remains a consistent producer
at dawn and dusk. Keep your eyes peeled for surface
busts as bass trap Bunker pods against the Bulkhead Riverbank
State Park, especially the rocks and pilings near one hundred
and forty fifth Street is another reliable stretch when that
incoming tide lines up with low light hours. If you're

(02:31):
working from a boat, drifting near the mouth of the
Harlem River offers great ambush points as bait flushes. In
action may be heavy at times, but remember most fish
caught this week have been just under keeper size. Don't
be discouraged. That means bigger bass and blues are likely
cruising close behind as the moon phase darkens and nights

(02:52):
get longer. The ever optimistic reports from the average angler
dot com say wish shaping up for another classic fall
run is more cold for approach. So whether you're casting
lures at sunrise, drifting baked by moonlight, or just watching
the skyline and tide roll by, this is the weekend
to be out. Keep an eye on those birds and
bait balls, and swap stories with your fellow anglers on

(03:14):
the pier. Thanks for tuning in to your Hudson River
Fishing report with artificial lure. Don't forget to subscribe so
you never miss local bite updates, and most importantly, get
out there and set the hook. This has been a
Quiet Please production. For more check out Quiet Please dot
ai