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Atlantic codPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Atlantic cod
- Now
- 5312 PM EDT
- Best window
- 1-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Western Channel scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Thursday, Oct 1 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.0 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 5 kt ENEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 62°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Atlantic cod
Species seasonality
70Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Atlantic cod is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with MassDMF before you keep a fish.
Source: MassDMF · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Atlantic cod is best here
Peak season for Atlantic cod · 6 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Western Channel
- Depth
- 4-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonAtlantic cod
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 Western Channel
Western Channel is a channel in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Depth is 4-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are scup, black sea bass and striped bass. It is peak season now for scup, black sea bass, striped bass and little tunny, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Scup peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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
- White Rocks71
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 71
- Black sea bass 67
- Atlantic cod 64
8 kt NWH 5:21 PM · 8.6 ftL 11:51 PM · 1.7 ft
- Lynn Harbor69
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 69
- Black sea bass 64
- Little tunny 61
8 kt NWH 5:21 PM · 8.6 ftL 11:51 PM · 1.7 ft
- Black Rock Channel68
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 68
- Black sea bass 65
- Striped bass 57
8 kt NWH 5:21 PM · 8.6 ftL 11:51 PM · 1.7 ft
- Pines Point of63
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 63
- Scup 61
- Bluefish 59
8 kt NWH 5:21 PM · 8.6 ftL 11:51 PM · 1.7 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.