Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Bar · Massachusetts

Point May

41.62°N · 70.82°W · Bar · Buzzards Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 PM · Summer flounder

77/100Great
Now
5610 AM EDT
Best window
4-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.0 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
Score56Good
Tide2.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind7 kn NNWgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.3 ft · 4 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy61% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here

Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Summer flounder in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Point May

Depth
4-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSummer flounder

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 Point May

Point May is a bar in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 4-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
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

  • Seal Island Rocks

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Black sea bass 71
    • Atlantic cod 67

    7 kt NNWH 2:05 PM · 3.4 ftL 8:04 PM · 1.2 ft

  • Puppy Rocks

    Bar · 1.1 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Black sea bass 71
    • Atlantic cod 67

    7 kt NNWH 2:05 PM · 3.4 ftL 8:04 PM · 1.2 ft

  • Brant Island Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    70
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 70
    • Striped bass 68
    • Little tunny 67

    6 kt NNWH 2:05 PM · 3.4 ftL 8:04 PM · 1.2 ft

  • Nasketucket Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    70
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 70
    • Striped bass 68
    • Little tunny 66

    7 kt NNWH 2:05 PM · 3.4 ftL 8:04 PM · 1.2 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.