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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Scup
- Now
- 734 AM EDT
- Best window
- 4-10 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Chickadee Ledge 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
Monday, Oct 5 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
44Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.0 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 8 kt SSWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
89Water temp: 65°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Scup
Species seasonality
82Season: ShoulderHabitat: 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
Chickadee Ledge
- Depth
- 35-60 ftSlope
- Structure
- Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · slope
- 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 Chickadee Ledge
Chickadee Ledge is a bar in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 35-60 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are scup, bluefish and Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for scup, bluefish, Atlantic cod and black sea bass, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Scup peak from June through September. Bluefish peak from June through July and in September. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Westport Point73
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 73
- Bluefish 70
- Little tunny 68
6 kt NH 5:19 AM · 2.5 ftL 11:32 AM · 0.6 ft
- Hen and Chickens71
Bar · 1.2 mi
Top: BluefishPeak season- Bluefish 71
- Little tunny 66
- Striped bass 66
6 kt NH 5:19 AM · 2.5 ftL 11:32 AM · 0.6 ft
- Black Rocks71
Bar · 2.2 mi
Top: BluefishPeak season- Bluefish 71
- Scup 68
- Little tunny 66
6 kt NH 5:19 AM · 2.5 ftL 11:32 AM · 0.6 ft
- Coxens Ledge70
Bar · 2.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 70
- Black sea bass 62
- Bluefish 62
6 kt NH 5:05 AM · 2.9 ftL 11:00 AM · 0.7 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.