Waterlands

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HaddockPeak season

Flat · Massachusetts

Fort Flat

41.62°N · 70.90°W · Flat · Buzzards Bay

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Best score today · 5 PM · Haddock

79/100Great
Now
566 PM EDT
Best window
6-7 PMDusk
Tide now
Ebbing1.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Sep 29 · 2 AM

Time2A
Score55Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward SE
Wind6 kn NNWgusts 13 · steady
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast93% cloud
Water66°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Haddock 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 Haddock is best here

Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak

Haddock season by week of the year. Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Haddock in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Fort Flat

Depth
6-20 ftSlope
Structure
Flat · Inner · Semi-exposedFlat · slope
Season
Peak seasonHaddock

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 Fort Flat

Fort Flat is a flat in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 6-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads flat, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Haddock
Haddock feed on gravel, sand and clay bottom along the edges of banks and ledges, mostly in 120 to 400 feet. They have small, soft mouths, so fish clam or squid on small hooks on a high-low rig, or a light jig with teasers, right on the bottom. Set the hook gently and keep steady pressure on the way up.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
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

  • New Bedford Harbor

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    76
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 76
    • Little tunny 72
    • Black sea bass 69

    7 kt SSWH 1:31 AM · 2.9 ftL 6:24 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Little Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    75
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 75
    • Little tunny 71
    • Bluefish 69

    8 kt SH 1:28 AM · 2.9 ftL 6:09 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Clarks Cove

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    74
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 74
    • Little tunny 70
    • Bluefish 68

    7 kt SSWH 1:31 AM · 2.9 ftL 6:24 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Butler Flats

    Flat · 1.3 mi

    70
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 70
    • Little tunny 66
    • Black sea bass 63

    7 kt SSWH 1:31 AM · 2.9 ftL 6:24 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.