Waterlands

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HaddockPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Shank Painter Bar

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

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Best score today · 4 AM · Haddock

76/100Great
Now
589 AM EDT
Best window
4 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Ebbing7.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Sunday, Oct 4 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score59Good
Tide8.3 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind9 kn WSWgusts 13 · steady
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherClear18% cloud
Water60°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.

Source: MassDMF · synced yesterday

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

Shank Painter Bar

Depth
20-150 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · drop-off
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 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 scup, Atlantic cod and bluefish. It is peak season now for scup, Atlantic cod, bluefish and black sea bass, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Scup peak from June through September. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October. Bluefish peak from June through July and in September.

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Wood End Bar

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Atlantic cod 61
    • Bluefish 61

    19 kt NNEL 1:59 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:15 PM · 8.9 ft

  • Long Point

    Bar · 2.9 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Striped bass 63
    • Little tunny 62

    19 kt NNEL 1:59 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:15 PM · 8.9 ft

  • Hatches Harbor

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Striped bass 61
    • Little tunny 59

    19 kt NNEL 1:59 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:15 PM · 8.9 ft

  • Herring Cove

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Striped bass 60
    • Bluefish 59

    19 kt NNEL 1:59 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:15 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.