UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Winter flounderOff seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Winter flounder
- Now
- 349 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5 PM-12 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Ebbing7.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Barnstable Harbor scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Wednesday, Sep 30 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
94Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 6 kt NNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
69Water temp: 63°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Winter flounder
Species seasonality
42Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: MassDMF · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Winter flounder is best here
Out of season for Winter flounder · it leaves in 11 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Barnstable Harbor
- Depth
- 2-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Barnstable Harbor
Barnstable Harbor is a bay in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
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 black sea bass, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. 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
- The Cove71
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 71
- Bluefish 62
- Little tunny 62
13 kt NNEL 2:19 PM · 2.4 ftH 8:19 PM · 9.1 ft
- Bass Hole70
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 70
- Bluefish 62
- Little tunny 62
13 kt NNEL 2:19 PM · 2.4 ftH 8:19 PM · 9.1 ft
- Horseshoe Shoal65
Bar · 0.9 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 65
- Bluefish 64
- Little tunny 63
13 kt NNEL 2:19 PM · 2.4 ftH 8:19 PM · 9.1 ft
- Mussel Point65
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 65
- Scup 65
- Striped bass 65
13 kt NNEL 2:19 PM · 2.4 ftH 8:19 PM · 9.1 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.