Waterlands

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Black sea bassPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Seal Island Rocks

41.62°N · 70.81°W · Bar · Buzzards Bay

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Best score today · 7 PM · Black sea bass

78/100Great
Now
727 PM EDT
Best window
7-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score72Great
Tide3.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward SW
Wind9 kn NEgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Peak season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at peak

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Peak season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Black sea bass in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Seal Island Rocks

Depth
8-20 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · slope
Season
Peak seasonBlack sea bass

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 Seal Island Rocks

Seal Island Rocks is a bar in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 8-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, 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 Atlantic cod, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. 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

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.
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.
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

  • Brant Island Cove

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Little tunny 69
    • Striped bass 69

    9 kt NEL 12:04 AM · 0.6 ftH 6:09 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Nasketucket Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Little tunny 69
    • Striped bass 69

    9 kt NEL 12:04 AM · 0.6 ftH 6:09 AM · 3.5 ft

  • North Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Striped bass 72
    • Scup 70

    9 kt NEL 12:04 AM · 0.6 ftH 6:09 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Point May

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Scup 70
    • Bluefish 69

    9 kt NEL 12:04 AM · 0.6 ftH 6:09 AM · 3.5 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.