Waterlands

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ScupPeak season

Cape · Massachusetts

Shell Point

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

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Best score today · 5 PM · Scup

85/100Epic
Now
545 PM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMDusk
Tide now
Ebbing2.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Sep 29 · 7 PM

Time7P
Score61Good
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.8 kn · toward NE
Wind5 kn SSWgusts 18 · steady
Air temp59°Mild
WeatherClear1% cloud
Water67°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Scup 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 Scup is best here

Peak season for Scup · 1 more week at peak

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

Scup in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Shell Point

Depth
2-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonScup

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 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

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.
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

  • Shell Point Bay

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    83
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 83
    • Bluefish 81
    • Little tunny 79

    8 kt SL 7:52 PM · 1.0 ftH 2:06 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Sunset Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    83
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 83
    • Bluefish 81
    • Little tunny 79

    8 kt SL 7:52 PM · 1.0 ftH 2:06 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Sunset Island

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    83
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 83
    • Little tunny 80
    • Bluefish 75

    8 kt SL 7:52 PM · 1.0 ftH 2:06 AM · 2.9 ft

  • East River

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    83
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 83
    • Bluefish 76
    • Little tunny 74

    8 kt SL 7:52 PM · 1.0 ftH 2:06 AM · 2.9 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.