Waterlands

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Black sea bassPeak season

Flat · Massachusetts

White Head Flats

42.28°N · 70.89°W · Flat · Boston Harbor

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Best score today · 12 AM · Striped bass

73/100Great
Now
686 AM EDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding6.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Sep 24 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score67Great
Tide4.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward ENE
Wind13 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateRough4.1 ft · 6 s
Air temp59°Mild
WeatherOvercast90% cloud
Water62°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Peak season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at peak

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Peak season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Black sea bass in Massachusetts

Spot profile

White Head Flats

Depth
5-10 ftSlope
Structure
Flat · Inner · Semi-exposedFlat · slope
Season
Peak seasonBlack sea 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 White Head Flats

White Head Flats is a flat in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Depth is 5-10 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads flat, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • Sunset Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    76
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 76
    • Striped bass 75
    • Bluefish 70

    10 kt NH 8:01 AM · 7.9 ftL 1:54 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Rocky Neck

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    76
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 76
    • Striped bass 76
    • Bluefish 71

    10 kt NH 8:05 AM · 7.9 ftL 1:56 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Crow Point Flats

    Bar · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Bluefish 72
    • Atlantic cod 69

    10 kt NH 8:01 AM · 7.9 ftL 1:54 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Hull Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Little tunny 72
    • Striped bass 72

    10 kt NH 8:04 AM · 7.7 ftL 1:56 PM · 2.3 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.