Waterlands

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Striped bassPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Boston Ledge

42.34°N · 70.86°W · Bar · Boston Harbor

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Best score today · 5 PM · Scup

84/100Great
Now
798 PM EDT
Best window
8-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 PM · now

Time8PNOW
Score79Great
Tide2.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.0 kn · toward E
Wind7 kn SSWgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 6 s
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherClear6% cloud
Water66°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Striped bass is best here

Peak season for Striped bass · 5 more weeks at peak

Striped bass season by week of the year. Peak season for Striped bass · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Striped bass in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Boston Ledge

Depth
45-70 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · slope
Season
Peak seasonStriped bass

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 Boston Ledge

Boston Ledge is a bar in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Depth is 45-70 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shag Rocks

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    79
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 79
    • Bluefish 78
    • Little tunny 78

    7 kt SSWL 9:58 PM · 0.8 ftH 4:13 AM · 8.2 ft

  • Ultonia Ledge

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    79
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 79
    • Black sea bass 78
    • Little tunny 78

    7 kt SSWL 9:58 PM · 0.8 ftH 4:13 AM · 8.2 ft

  • Utonia Ledge

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    79
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 79
    • Black sea bass 78
    • Little tunny 78

    7 kt SSWL 9:58 PM · 0.8 ftH 4:13 AM · 8.2 ft

  • Martin Ledge

    Bar · 0.8 mi

    78
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 78
    • Striped bass 77
    • Little tunny 76

    7 kt SSWL 9:58 PM · 0.8 ftH 4:13 AM · 8.2 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.