Waterlands

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Atlantic codPeak season

Bay · Massachusetts

East Harbor

42.06°N · 70.13°W · Bay · Cape Cod Bay

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Best score today · 4 AM · Atlantic cod

80/100Great
Now
422 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Low2.1 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score61Good
Tide8.9 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind5 kn SSWgusts 10 · building
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherClear6% cloud
Water60°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic cod 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 Atlantic cod is best here

Peak season for Atlantic cod · 5 more weeks at peak

Atlantic cod season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic cod · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic cod in Massachusetts

Spot profile

East Harbor

Depth
Up to 2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonAtlantic cod

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 East Harbor

East Harbor is a bay in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is up to 2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, scup and striped bass. It is peak season now for black sea bass, scup, striped bass 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. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Atlantic cod
Cod hold near coarse, rocky bottom on ledges, banks and wrecks, commonly from 80 to 300 feet in the Gulf of Maine. Drift over the structure with a diamond or cod jig and a teaser fly above it, keeping the jig within a few feet of bottom, or fish clams on a high-low rig. Check the stock area and season before keeping one, because most of the year cod must be released.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Long Point

    Bar · 2.5 mi

    54
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 54
    • Black sea bass 52
    • Scup 52

    15 kt NNEH 8:15 PM · 8.9 ftL 2:41 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Wood End Bar

    Bar · 4.5 mi

    54
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 54
    • Black sea bass 52
    • Scup 52

    15 kt NNEH 8:15 PM · 8.9 ftL 2:41 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Provincetown Harbor

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    51
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 51
    • Scup 51
    • Little tunny 49

    15 kt NNEH 8:15 PM · 8.9 ftL 2:41 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Peaked Hill Bar

    Bar · 1.6 mi

    49
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 49
    • Bluefish 48
    • Haddock 47

    15 kt NNEH 8:15 PM · 8.9 ftL 2:41 AM · 1.4 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.