Waterlands

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Atlantic codPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Shank Painter Bar

42.04°N · 70.22°W · Bar · Cape Cod Bay

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Best score today · 7 PM · Atlantic cod

83/100Great
Now
6610 AM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMHigh slack
Tide now
Ebbing3.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Oct 2 · 6 AM

Time6A
Score67Great
Tide7.0 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind12 kn WSWgusts 22 · steady
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water58°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 · 6 more weeks at peak

Atlantic cod season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic cod · 6 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic cod in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Shank Painter Bar

Depth
20-150 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · drop-off
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 Shank Painter Bar

Shank Painter Bar is a bar in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Depth is 20-150 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are Atlantic cod, black sea bass and haddock. It is peak season now for Atlantic cod, black sea bass, haddock and bluefish, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September. Haddock peak from May through September.

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Wood End Bar

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 66
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Haddock 64

    14 kt NNEL 12:06 PM · 2.2 ftH 6:23 PM · 8.8 ft

  • Long Point

    Bar · 2.9 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 66
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Haddock 63

    14 kt NNEL 12:06 PM · 2.2 ftH 6:23 PM · 8.8 ft

  • Hatches Harbor

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    62
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 62
    • Striped bass 60
    • Bluefish 58

    14 kt NNEL 12:06 PM · 2.2 ftH 6:23 PM · 8.8 ft

  • Herring Cove

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    60
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 60
    • Striped bass 60
    • Black sea bass 59

    14 kt NNEL 12:06 PM · 2.2 ftH 6:23 PM · 8.8 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.