Hudson River anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your NYC river fishing report for Tuesday, October 28th, 2025.

First light broke at 7:33 AM and we’ll fish daylight till 6:02 PM. The weather’s crisp: clear skies, light winds, and a high near 57°F. You’ll want layers this morning—there’s a definite autumn bite in the breeze. Tides are prime for action: low tide was just before sunrise at 5:51 AM, giving us that sweet incoming push into late morning. High tide will hit around 12:21 PM and set up a classic afternoon window for strong currents and bait movement—fish tend to chew best on the incoming and outgoing[NOAA].

The fall run is in full swing across the Hudson. Right now, schools of bait are pushing in, drawing hungry striped bass and bluefish from Battery Park up through the piers and into the East River and Jamaica Bay. The bite’s been best at dawn and dusk, so plan to work those current seams with swimmers like SP Minnows, soft plastics rigged on jig heads, and bunker chunks. Night bites are steady when you fish bridge shadows or piers—bring a headlamp and target stripers holding off drop-offs. Local sources say metals and epoxy jigs in silver or green are producing bluefish when you spot birds blitzing over fast-moving schools. Black sea bass and porgy are chewing on squid strips fished on hi-lo rigs, best when the tide is really moving. With water temp now cooling near 60°F, tautog (blackfish) are waking up on rocky structure; fish green crabs clipped on short leaders right on the rocks for your best shot at a bulldog[FishingReminder].

Recent catches have been solid up and down the river. Plenty of keeper stripers were reported off Pier 25, and pier hoppers down by Battery Park landed bluefish up to 8 pounds this past weekend. False albacore have also made a surprising showing in lower Manhattan channels—epoxy jigs and fast retrieves are key when birds pop up.

Best lures and bait this week:
- Swim shads, SP Minnows, and paddle-tail soft plastics for stripers.
- Metals (Castmasters, Epoxy Jigs) in silver/green for blues and albies.
- Bunker chunks or live eels on bottom for bigger stripers around dusk.
- Squid strips on hi-lo rigs for black sea bass and porgy.
- Green crabs on heavy jigs for tautog on river rock piles.

Local recommendations:
- **Pier 40 and Pier 62** have produced reliable bass and blues on early outgoing tide.
- **The West Side Highway riprap** just north of Chambers Street: tautog and porgy are biting on crabs and squid strips.
- Bridge spots at dawn—especially under the Brooklyn Bridge, where night stripers are holding tight.
- South of the George Washington Bridge, fish the old pilings for the mixed bag bite and crab baits for tautog.

Tactics are shifting daily with the fall run:
- If the water’s cloudy from a northwest wind, try dark plastics or scented baits; when water clears, switch back to shiny metals and quick retrieves.
- Keep a rod rigged and ready with a small metal—when you see birds diving, cast immediately for fast-moving blues or albies.

Remember, autumn is your last chance to cash in on the hot bite before the action moves south. Fish are feeding heavy, but pressure’s lighter now that the tourist crowd thinned. Make the most of it, but play your tides and keep mobile—Hudson fall action rewards the angler willing to chase birds and chase currents.

Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Hudson River roundup. Before you hit the water, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next update and always get the freshest bite info.

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