Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Cape · Massachusetts

Shell Point

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

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Best score today · 6 AM · Summer flounder

86/100Epic
Now
484 PM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 28 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score54Good
Tide0.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.3 kn · toward NE
Wind6 kn WSWgusts 22 · steady
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy67% cloud
Water65°FPersisted

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

Shell Point

Depth
2-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 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 little tunny, scup and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, bluefish and striped bass, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through September. Bluefish peak from June through July and in 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shell Point Bay

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Little tunny 67
    • Bluefish 66

    4 kt NL 9:09 PM · 1.2 ftH 2:57 AM · 2.8 ft

  • Sunset Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Little tunny 67
    • Bluefish 66

    4 kt NL 9:09 PM · 1.2 ftH 2:57 AM · 2.8 ft

  • East River

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Black sea bass 67
    • Striped bass 64

    4 kt NL 9:09 PM · 1.2 ftH 2:57 AM · 2.8 ft

  • Sunset Island

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    71
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 71
    • Scup 71
    • Striped bass 67

    4 kt NL 9:09 PM · 1.2 ftH 2:57 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.