Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Bar · Massachusetts

Pease Ledge

41.43°N · 70.92°W · Bar · Buzzards Bay

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Best score today · 6 AM · Tautog

82/100Great
Now
696 PM EDT
Best window
6-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Sep 25 · 12 AM

Time12A
Score30Fair
Tide1.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.7 kn · toward NW
Wind14 kn NNEgusts 30 · steady
Sea stateRough5.6 ft · 5 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water66°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here

Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Tautog in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Pease Ledge

Depth
9-20 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonTautog

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 Pease Ledge

Pease Ledge is a bar in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 9-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Tautog
Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
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

  • Cuttyhunk Harbor

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    82
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 82
    • Black sea bass 79
    • Striped bass 79

    3 kt NNWL 8:59 PM · 1.1 ftH 3:36 AM · 2.6 ft

  • Whale Rock

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    81
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 81
    • Little tunny 79
    • Bluefish 78

    3 kt NNWL 8:59 PM · 1.1 ftH 3:36 AM · 2.6 ft

  • Middle Ledge

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    81
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 81
    • Little tunny 79
    • Bluefish 78

    3 kt NNWL 8:59 PM · 1.1 ftH 3:36 AM · 2.6 ft

  • Cuttyhunk Pond

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    80
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 80
    • Striped bass 78
    • Bluefish 77

    3 kt NNWL 8:59 PM · 1.1 ftH 3:36 AM · 2.6 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.