Waterlands

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ScupPeak season

Flat · Massachusetts

Fort Flat

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

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Best score today · 5 PM · Scup

79/100Great
Now
6810 AM EDT
Best window
3-6 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score68Great
Tide2.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind5 kn SSWgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy62% cloud
Water70°FObserved

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

Fort Flat

Depth
6-20 ftSlope
Structure
Flat · Inner · Semi-exposedFlat · 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 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 scup, black sea bass and little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, black sea bass, little tunny and bluefish, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Scup peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in 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

  • New Bedford Harbor

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Black sea bass 73
    • Little tunny 71

    5 kt SSWH 1:05 PM · 3.5 ftL 6:26 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Clarks Cove

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Bluefish 69
    • Little tunny 69

    5 kt SSWH 1:05 PM · 3.5 ftL 6:26 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Little Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Bluefish 70
    • Little tunny 70

    6 kt SSWH 1:09 PM · 3.5 ftL 6:30 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Butler Flats

    Flat · 1.3 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Black sea bass 67
    • Little tunny 65

    5 kt SSWH 1:05 PM · 3.5 ftL 6:26 PM · 0.9 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.