Waterlands

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ScupPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Dry Ledge

41.70°N · 70.69°W · Bar · Buzzards Bay

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Best score today · 10 PM · Scup

80/100Great
Now
684 PM EDT
Best window
6-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Oct 5 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score58Good
Tide1.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.5 kn · toward SW
Wind10 kn SWgusts 21 · steady
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water64°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Scup is best here

Peak season for Scup · 1 more week at peak

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

Scup in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Dry Ledge

Depth
10-20 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-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 Dry Ledge

Dry Ledge is a bar in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 10-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Wings Cove

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    67
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 67
    • Little tunny 66
    • Bluefish 64

    11 kt NEH 5:54 PM · 3.9 ftL 12:25 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Stony Point Dike

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Bluefish 66
    • Striped bass 63

    11 kt NEH 5:59 PM · 3.6 ftL 11:55 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Warren Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Striped bass 65
    • Bluefish 61

    11 kt NEH 5:59 PM · 3.6 ftL 11:55 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Great Hill Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Striped bass 65
    • Bluefish 61

    11 kt NEH 5:54 PM · 3.9 ftL 12:25 AM · 0.8 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.