Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Bay · Massachusetts

Bass Hole

41.73°N · 70.24°W · Bay · Cape Cod Bay

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Best score today · 4 PM · Summer flounder

77/100Great
Now
5710 AM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score57Good
Tide4.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.7 kn · toward N
Wind9 kn NNEgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 4 s
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy43% cloud
Water66°FObserved

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

Bass Hole

Depth
Up to 3 ftNearest water
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Bass Hole

Bass Hole is a bay in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Depth in the nearest water is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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

  • Mussel Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    72
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 72
    • Striped bass 70
    • Bluefish 67

    9 kt NNEL 12:26 PM · 2.5 ftH 6:24 PM · 8.9 ft

  • Barnstable Harbor

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    70
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 70
    • Little tunny 70
    • Striped bass 69

    9 kt NNEL 12:26 PM · 2.5 ftH 6:24 PM · 8.9 ft

  • Horseshoe Shoal

    Bar · 2.4 mi

    69
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 69
    • Little tunny 69
    • Atlantic cod 65

    9 kt NNEL 12:26 PM · 2.5 ftH 6:24 PM · 8.9 ft

  • The Cove

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    68
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 68
    • Bluefish 67
    • Striped bass 67

    9 kt NNEL 12:26 PM · 2.5 ftH 6:24 PM · 8.9 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.