Stripers, Blues, and Fluke Bite as Summer Winds Down on the Hudson River - August 29, 2025

Hudson River anglers, it's Artificial Lure with your Friday, August 29th, 2025 fishing report right here in New York City. Summer’s winding down, sunrise was at 6:19 AM, sunset coming at 7:41 PM tonight. It’s a clear morning after that recent muggy spell, with temps around 70 at dawn and rising into the low 80s by the afternoon. Winds are light and variable, perfect for a day on the river. The tidal swing today is solid—high tide just after 6:30 AM, then low around 12:45 PM—so expect current to pick up on the ebb mid-morning and prime fishing to run through the first half of the day.

Let’s talk fish activity: Striped bass are making themselves known again with the cooler nights; larger schools have been spotted shadowing bunker in the lower river stretches and near Pier 25, and the fall run is teasing its start, according to On The Water reports, with blitzes beginning to pop up along local beaches, rivers, and bays. Bluefish are always in the mix this time of year, slashing through peanut bunker schools all along the urban shoreline—great action early and late in the day when those bait balls come close[On The Water].

Just north in Raritan Bay, a mixed bag of bluefish, fluke, croakers, and spot have been active, with striped bass up to 40 pounds being reported after recent weather, and the momentum is spreading downstream to the city[On The Water; Northern New Jersey Fishing Report]. Tautog are prowling rocky structure from Governors Island to Edgewater piers, and party boats are finding keeper fluke rebounding after the recent storm. Out toward the Tappan Zee and Yonkers, the catfish bite remains steady, especially after dusk.

Best lures and baits today: If you’re targeting stripers, go with 5-7” white or chartreuse soft plastic swim shads, or bunker-patterned paddle tails. Early topwater walkers or pencil poppers can be deadly near dawn when the surface shows signs of life. For bluefish, nothing beats a metal spoon or a classic diamond jig, but have some wire leaders ready—those teeth mean business. Fluke are taking bucktail jigs tipped with Gulp! or spearing; add a teaser rig up top when the drift is slow. Tautog are responding to green crabs fished tight to structure on a simple bottom rig.

Hotspots today:
- Pier 25 and Pier 40, especially during the ebb tide, for striper and bluefish ambushes.
- The inshore flats south of the George Washington Bridge, where the outgoing tide concentrates bait and draws in both big blues and fluke.
- The Harlem River mouth and Roosevelt Island piers for a chance at a mix of stripers, blues, and the occasional blackfish.

Recent catches have included a dozen bluefish per boat in a morning run, several keeper fluke from the jetties by Battery Park, and even a pair of schoolie stripers landed from shore near the 79th Street Boat Basin. Anglers drifting live bunker or casting big plastics have had the best luck with the larger fish. Night owls are still reporting good numbers of channel catfish schooled up at the deeper bends north of Dyckman Street, mostly landed on cut bunker or chicken liver.

As always, the early morning bite has been prime, but don’t overlook the last hour before sunset—fish are feeding harder on those tide changes as we shift toward fall patterns.

Thanks for tuning in to your Hudson River fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe for updates every week, and keep those lines tight out there!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kudson River anglers, it's artificial lore with your Friday August
twenty ninth, twenty twenty five fishing report right here in
New York City. Summer's winding down. Sunrise was at six
nineteen am, sunset coming at seven forty one pm tonight.
It's a clear morning after that recent muggy spell, with
temps around seventy at dawn and rising into the low

(00:20):
eighties by the afternoon. Winds are light and variable, perfect
for a day on the river. The tidal swing today
is solid high tide just after six thirty am, then
low around twelve forty five pm, so expect current to
pick up on the ed mad morning and prime fishing
to run through the first half of the day. Let's
stock fish activity. Striped vasts are making themselves known again

(00:41):
with the cooler nights. Larger schools have been spotted shadowing
Bunker in the lower river stretches and near Pier twenty five,
and the fall run is teasing its start, according to
on the water reports, with blitzes beginning to pop up
along local beaches, rivers and bays. Blue fish are always
in the mix this time of year, slashing through peanut
bunker schools all along the urban shoreline. Great action early

(01:05):
and late in the day when those bayballs come close
on the water. Just north in Raretan Bay, a mixed
bag of bluefish, fluke, croakers, and spot have been active
will strike bass up the forty pounds being reported after
recent weather and the momentum is spreading downstream to the
city on the water. Northern New Jersey Fishing Report todag

(01:27):
are prowling rocky structure from Governor's Island to Edgewater Piers,
and party boats are finding keeper fluke rebounding after the
recent storm out toward the tappan Z and Yonkers. The
catfish bite remains steady, especially after dusk. Best lures and
baits today. If you're targeting stripers, go with five to
seven white or to true soft plastic swimshads or bunker

(01:48):
pattern paddle tails. Early topwater walkers or pencil poppers can
be deadly near dawn when the surface shows signs of life.
For bluefish, nothing beats a metal spoon or a classic
diamond j egg, but have some wire leaders ready. Those
teeth mean business. Fluke are taking bucktail jigs tipped with
gult or spearing add a teaser rig up top. When

(02:09):
the drift is slow. Tottoe are responding to green crabs
fish tight to structure on a simple bottom rig. Hotspots
today the Peer twenty five and Peer forty, especially during
the EBB tide, for striper and bluefish ambushes the inshore
flats south of the George Washington Bridge, where the outgoing
tide concentrates bait and draws in both big blues and

(02:30):
fluke the Harlem River Mouth and Roosevelt Island piers for
a chance at a mix of stripers, blues, and the
occasional blackfish. Recent catches have included a dozen bluefish per
boat in a morning run, several keeper fluke from the
jetties by Battery Park, and even a pair of Schooly
stripers landed from shore near the seventy ninth Street boat basin.

(02:51):
Anglers drifting live bunker or casting big plastics have had
the best luck with the larger fish. Night owls are
still reporting good numbers of channel catfegh schooled up at
the deeper bends north of Diekman Street, mostly landed on
cut bunker or chicken liver. As always, the early morning
bite has been prime but don't overlook the last hour
before sunset. Fish are feeding harder on those tide changes

(03:13):
as we shift toward fall patterns. Thanks for tuning into
your Hudson River Fishing Report. Don't forget to subscribe for
updates every week and keep those lines tight out there.
This has been a quiet please production. For more check
out Quiet please dot ai