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Winter flounderOff seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Winter flounder
- Now
- 309 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 AM-2 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding7.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Black Rock 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
Monday, Sep 28 · 3 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
53Wind: 10 kt NPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
50Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 59°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.0 ftSeason & habitat · Winter flounder
Species seasonality
20Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Winter flounder 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 Winter flounder is best here
Out of season for Winter flounder · it leaves in 10 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Black Rock
- Depth
- 1-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
- Season
- Off seasonWinter 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 Black Rock
Black Rock is a bar in Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay. Depth is 1-9 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 Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for scup, black sea bass, Atlantic cod and haddock, 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. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Winter flounder
- Winter flounder spend late winter and spring on mud and sand bottom in harbors, coves and tidal channels, often in 5 to 30 feet. Anchor, chum with crushed clams or mussels, and fish small long-shank hooks with worm or clam on the bottom, tapping the rig to stir up mud. The bite is light, so use a sensitive rod.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Shooting Rock73
Bar · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 73
- Atlantic cod 63
- Black sea bass 63
6 kt NNEH 9:34 AM · 7.8 ftL 3:41 PM · 1.5 ft
- Bar Ledge72
Bar · 2.0 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 72
- Atlantic cod 62
- Black sea bass 62
6 kt NNEH 9:33 AM · 8.1 ftL 3:22 PM · 1.4 ft
- Western Cove69
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 69
- Striped bass 58
- Black sea bass 54
6 kt NNEH 9:34 AM · 7.8 ftL 3:41 PM · 1.5 ft
- Checkly Point63
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 63
- Striped bass 61
- Atlantic cod 54
6 kt NNEH 9:34 AM · 7.8 ftL 3:41 PM · 1.5 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.