Waterlands

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HaddockPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

The Bow Bells

41.65°N · 70.74°W · Bar · Buzzards Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 PM · Haddock

76/100Great
Now
523 AM EDT
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score64Good
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind6 kn WSWgusts 15 · steady
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherClear15% cloud
Water65°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Haddock 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 Haddock is best here

Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak

Haddock season by week of the year. Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Haddock in Massachusetts

Spot profile

The Bow Bells

Depth
25-30 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonHaddock

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 The Bow Bells

The Bow Bells is a bar in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 25-30 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Haddock
Haddock feed on gravel, sand and clay bottom along the edges of banks and ledges, mostly in 120 to 400 feet. They have small, soft mouths, so fish clam or squid on small hooks on a high-low rig, or a light jig with teasers, right on the bottom. Set the hook gently and keep steady pressure on the way up.
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.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Peases Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Bluefish 62
    • Striped bass 62

    6 kt NNEL 7:40 AM · 1.0 ftH 2:58 PM · 3.3 ft

  • Point Connett

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Bluefish 62
    • Striped bass 62

    6 kt NNEL 7:40 AM · 1.0 ftH 2:58 PM · 3.3 ft

  • Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Bluefish 63
    • Little tunny 59

    6 kt NNEL 7:22 AM · 1.1 ftH 2:59 PM · 3.7 ft

  • Centerboard Shoal

    Bar · 1.4 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Bluefish 63
    • Little tunny 59

    6 kt NNEL 7:22 AM · 1.1 ftH 2:59 PM · 3.7 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.