Waterlands

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HaddockPeak season

Bay · Massachusetts

Island End River

42.39°N · 71.05°W · Bay · Boston Harbor

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Best score today · 6 PM · Haddock

73/100Great
Now
493 AM EDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low1.6 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Oct 2 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score68Great
Tide8.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.1 kn · toward E
Wind3 kn ENEgusts 13 · steady
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherOvercast99% cloud
Water63°FPersisted

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

Island End River

Depth
5-50 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · drop-off
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 Island End River

Island End River is a bay in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Depth is 5-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are scup, Atlantic cod and black sea bass. It is peak season now for scup, Atlantic cod, black sea bass and bluefish, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Scup peak from June through September. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October. 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.
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.
Atlantic cod
Cod hold near coarse, rocky bottom on ledges, banks and wrecks, commonly from 80 to 300 feet in the Gulf of Maine. Drift over the structure with a diamond or cod jig and a teaser fly above it, keeping the jig within a few feet of bottom, or fish clams on a high-low rig. Check the stock area and season before keeping one, because most of the year cod must be released.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Boston Inner Harbor

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    60
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 60
    • Scup 58
    • Atlantic cod 56

    8 kt NH 8:52 AM · 8.3 ftL 2:45 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Little Mystic Channel

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    59
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 59
    • Scup 56
    • Black sea bass 54

    8 kt NH 8:52 AM · 8.3 ftL 2:45 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Fort Point Channel

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    59
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 59
    • Striped bass 59
    • Black sea bass 55

    8 kt NH 8:52 AM · 8.3 ftL 2:44 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Chelsea River

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    58
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 58
    • Atlantic cod 56
    • Black sea bass 56

    8 kt NH 8:52 AM · 8.3 ftL 2:45 PM · 2.1 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.