Waterlands

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HaddockPeak season

Gut · Massachusetts

Black Rock Channel

42.33°N · 70.92°W · Gut · Boston Harbor

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · Haddock

79/100Great
Now
574 AM EDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding3.4 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score57Good
Tide3.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward SW
Wind9 kn Ngusts 17 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast87% chance of rain
Water64°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Haddock is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with MassDMF before you keep a fish.

Source: MassDMF · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Haddock is best here

Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak

Haddock season by week of the year. Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Haddock in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Black Rock Channel

Depth
20-35 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
Season
Peak seasonHaddock

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Black Rock Channel

Black Rock Channel is a gut in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Depth is 20-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are striped bass, scup and black sea bass. It is peak season now for striped bass, scup, black sea bass and bluefish, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October. Scup peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September.

Tackle & technique

Haddock
Haddock feed on gravel, sand and clay bottom along the edges of banks and ledges, mostly in 120 to 400 feet. They have small, soft mouths, so fish clam or squid on small hooks on a high-low rig, or a light jig with teasers, right on the bottom. Set the hook gently and keep steady pressure on the way up.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Great Brewster Spit

    Flat · 0.6 mi

    76
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 76
    • Little tunny 71
    • Bluefish 69

    9 kt NH 7:59 AM · 7.5 ftL 1:51 PM · 2.2 ft

  • False Spit

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    75
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 75
    • Bluefish 70
    • Little tunny 70

    9 kt NH 7:59 AM · 7.5 ftL 1:51 PM · 2.2 ft

  • Ram Head

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    72
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 72
    • Striped bass 71
    • Little tunny 70

    9 kt NH 7:59 AM · 7.5 ftL 1:51 PM · 2.2 ft

  • Ram Head Flats

    Flat · 0.4 mi

    68
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 68
    • Scup 65
    • Black sea bass 64

    9 kt NH 7:59 AM · 7.5 ftL 1:51 PM · 2.2 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with MassDMF before you keep a fish.