Waterlands

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Atlantic codPeak season

Cape · Massachusetts

Ricketsons Point

41.58°N · 70.94°W · Cape · Buzzards Bay

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Best score today · 5 PM · Atlantic cod

87/100Epic
Now
644 PM EDT
Best window
4-6 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score64Good
Tide2.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward S
Wind7 kn SSWgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherOvercast87% cloud
Water70°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic cod 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 Atlantic cod is best here

Peak season for Atlantic cod · 6 more weeks at peak

Atlantic cod season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic cod · 6 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic cod in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Ricketsons Point

Depth
5-20 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · slope
Season
Peak seasonAtlantic cod

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 Ricketsons Point

Ricketsons Point is a cape in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth in the nearest water is 5-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, 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

Atlantic cod
Cod hold near coarse, rocky bottom on ledges, banks and wrecks, commonly from 80 to 300 feet in the Gulf of Maine. Drift over the structure with a diamond or cod jig and a teaser fly above it, keeping the jig within a few feet of bottom, or fish clams on a high-low rig. Check the stock area and season before keeping one, because most of the year cod must be released.
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

  • Moshers Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    82
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 82
    • Little tunny 80
    • Bluefish 74

    7 kt SSWL 6:26 PM · 0.9 ftH 1:31 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Apponagansett Bay

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    81
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 81
    • Little tunny 76
    • Bluefish 74

    7 kt SSWL 6:26 PM · 0.9 ftH 1:31 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Clarks Cove

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    79
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 79
    • Little tunny 76
    • Bluefish 74

    7 kt SSWL 6:26 PM · 0.9 ftH 1:31 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Barekneed Rocks

    Bar · 1.5 mi

    77
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 77
    • Little tunny 77
    • Striped bass 76

    7 kt SSWL 6:32 PM · 1.1 ftH 1:26 AM · 2.8 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.