Waterlands

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Black sea bassPeak season

Bay · Massachusetts

Squeteague Harbor

41.66°N · 70.62°W · Bay · Buzzards Bay

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Best score today · 2 AM · Striped bass

79/100Great
Now
641 PM EDT
Best window
5-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 28 · 2 AM

Time2A
Score75Great
Tide0.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb2.1 kn · toward SW
Wind13 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherOvercast43% chance of rain
Water65°FModel

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

Squeteague Harbor

Depth
1-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
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 Squeteague Harbor

Squeteague Harbor is a bay in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 1-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, scup and little tunny. It is peak season now for black sea bass, scup, little tunny and bluefish, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September. Scup peak from June through 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

  • Red Brook Harbor

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Little tunny 62

    11 kt NNEH 5:03 PM · 3.5 ftL 11:39 PM · 0.9 ft

  • The Anchorage

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Little tunny 62

    11 kt NNEH 5:03 PM · 3.5 ftL 11:39 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Hospital Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Black sea bass 60
    • Bluefish 60

    11 kt NNEH 5:03 PM · 3.5 ftL 11:39 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Lawrence Island

    Cape · 0.1 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Striped bass 59
    • Bluefish 58

    12 kt NNEH 5:03 PM · 3.5 ftL 11:39 PM · 0.9 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.