Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Bar · Massachusetts

Boston Ledge

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

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Best score today · 6 AM · Summer flounder

84/100Great
Now
591 PM EDT
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score59Good
Tide3.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind7 kn NNWgusts 18 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 7 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water67°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here

Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at shoulder

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Boston Ledge

Depth
45-70 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonSummer flounder

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 scup, black sea bass and Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for scup, black sea bass, Atlantic cod and haddock, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Scup peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shag Rocks

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    79
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 79
    • Black sea bass 76
    • Atlantic cod 74

    7 kt NNWH 5:16 PM · 8.7 ftL 11:47 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Martin Ledge

    Bar · 0.8 mi

    78
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 78
    • Black sea bass 76
    • Atlantic cod 74

    7 kt NNWH 5:16 PM · 8.7 ftL 11:47 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Ultonia Ledge

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Black sea bass 73
    • Atlantic cod 71

    7 kt NNWH 5:16 PM · 8.7 ftL 11:47 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Utonia Ledge

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Black sea bass 73
    • Atlantic cod 71

    7 kt NNWH 5:16 PM · 8.7 ftL 11:47 PM · 1.5 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.