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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Black sea bass
- Now
- 6511 AM EDT
- Best window
- 4-10 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bird Island Reef 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
Sunday, Oct 4 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
91Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt WSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
91Water temp: 65°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Tautog
Species seasonality
89Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Scup 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 Scup is best here
Peak season for Scup · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Bird Island Reef
- Depth
- 20-25 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonScup
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 Bird Island Reef
Bird Island Reef is a bar in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 20-25 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are scup, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for scup, black sea bass, bluefish and little tunny, 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. Bluefish peak from June through July and in September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Bluefish
- Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Sippican Harbor66
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 66
- Little tunny 65
- Striped bass 65
11 kt NNEH 4:59 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:27 AM · 1.0 ft
- Cleveland Ledge Channel64
Channel · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 64
- Striped bass 64
- Black sea bass 62
11 kt NNEH 4:59 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:27 AM · 1.0 ft
- Centerboard Shoal59
Bar · 0.5 mi
Top: BluefishPeak season- Bluefish 59
- Little tunny 58
- Atlantic cod 56
11 kt NNEH 4:59 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:27 AM · 1.0 ft
- Bird Island South Shoal59
Bar · 1.0 mi
Top: BluefishPeak season- Bluefish 59
- Little tunny 58
- Atlantic cod 56
11 kt NNEH 4:59 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:27 AM · 1.0 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.