Waterlands

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Winter flounderOff season

Cape · Massachusetts

Shell Point

41.74°N · 70.66°W · Cape · Buzzards Bay

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Best score today · 2 AM · Winter flounder

82/100Great
Now
286 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High3.1 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Sep 22 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score32Fair
Tide1.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb2.0 kn · toward SSW
Wind8 kn NEgusts 17 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Winter 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 Winter flounder is best here

Out of season for Winter flounder · it leaves in 11 weeks

Winter flounder season by week of the year. Out of season for Winter flounder · it leaves in 11 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Winter flounder in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Shell Point

Depth
2-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonWinter 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 Shell Point

Shell Point is a cape in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 2-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and striped bass. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, striped bass and bluefish, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Scup peak from June through September. Little tunny peak from September through October. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Winter flounder
Winter flounder spend late winter and spring on mud and sand bottom in harbors, coves and tidal channels, often in 5 to 30 feet. Anchor, chum with crushed clams or mussels, and fish small long-shank hooks with worm or clam on the bottom, tapping the rig to stir up mud. The bite is light, so use a sensitive rod.
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

  • Shell Point Bay

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Little tunny 66
    • Striped bass 65

    8 kt NEL 12:34 AM · 0.8 ftH 5:51 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Sunset Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Little tunny 66
    • Striped bass 65

    8 kt NEL 12:34 AM · 0.8 ftH 5:51 AM · 3.0 ft

  • East River

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Striped bass 65
    • Black sea bass 62

    8 kt NEL 12:34 AM · 0.8 ftH 5:51 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Sunset Island

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Little tunny 65
    • Striped bass 62

    8 kt NEL 12:34 AM · 0.8 ftH 5:51 AM · 3.0 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.