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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Scup
- Now
- 743 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bald Rocks 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
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 10 kt SSEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
92Water temp: 60°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Scup is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with MassDMF before you keep a fish.
Source: MassDMF · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Scup is best here
Peak season for Scup · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Bald Rocks
- Depth
- 3-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonScup
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 Bald Rocks
Bald Rocks is a bar in Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are scup, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for scup, black sea bass, bluefish and Atlantic cod, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Scup peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September. Bluefish peak from June through July and in September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Farm Point76
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 76
- Little tunny 71
- Bluefish 70
6 kt NH 5:59 AM · 7.3 ftL 11:48 AM · 2.3 ft
- Babson Point76
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 76
- Little tunny 71
- Bluefish 70
6 kt NH 5:59 AM · 7.3 ftL 11:48 AM · 2.3 ft
- Annisquam Harbor75
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 75
- Scup 72
- Black sea bass 71
6 kt NH 5:59 AM · 7.3 ftL 11:48 AM · 2.3 ft
- Barn Rocks74
Bar · 0.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 74
- Black sea bass 73
- Bluefish 72
6 kt NH 5:59 AM · 7.3 ftL 11:48 AM · 2.3 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.