Waterlands

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Little tunnyPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Cole Ridge

42.53°N · 70.73°W · Bar · Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay

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Best score today · 6 AM · Little tunny

78/100Great
Now
786 PM EDT
Best window
6-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing7.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score78Great
Tide7.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward ESE
Wind3 kn SEgusts 11 · building
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 7 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy38% chance of rain
Water66°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Cole Ridge

Depth
100-120 ftSlope
Structure
Bar · Outer · ExposedBar · slope
Season
Peak seasonLittle tunny

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 Cole Ridge

Cole Ridge is a bar in Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay. Depth is 100-120 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bar, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are little tunny, haddock and Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for little tunny, haddock, Atlantic cod and striped bass, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Little tunny peak from September through October. Haddock peak from May through September. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
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.
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

  • Middle Breakers

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    80
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 80
    • Striped bass 80
    • Black sea bass 79

    3 kt SEL 10:44 PM · 1.1 ftH 5:00 AM · 7.5 ft

  • Newcomb Ledge

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    80
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 80
    • Scup 80
    • Striped bass 80

    3 kt SEL 10:44 PM · 1.1 ftH 5:00 AM · 7.5 ft

  • Kettle Island Ledge

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    79
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 79
    • Scup 79
    • Atlantic cod 76

    3 kt SEL 10:44 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:01 AM · 7.6 ft

  • Naushon Point Shoal

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    75
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 75
    • Haddock 74
    • Atlantic cod 72

    3 kt SEL 10:44 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:01 AM · 7.6 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.