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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 3 PM · Little tunny
- Now
- 615 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding7.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cole Ridge 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
Tuesday, Sep 29 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
90Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
95Wind: 4 kt SSWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
68Water temp: 61°F, coolLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Little tunny
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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
Cole Ridge
- Depth
- 100-120 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bar · Outer · ExposedBar · slope
- 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 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 scup, haddock and Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for scup, haddock, Atlantic cod and little tunny, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Scup peak from June through September. Haddock peak from May through September. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October.
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.
- 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
- Newcomb Ledge70
Bar · 1.9 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 70
- Black sea bass 62
- Atlantic cod 61
6 kt NH 5:58 AM · 7.2 ftL 11:49 AM · 2.2 ft
- Middle Breakers69
Bar · 1.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 69
- Atlantic cod 61
- Black sea bass 61
6 kt NH 5:58 AM · 7.2 ftL 11:49 AM · 2.2 ft
- Kettle Island Ledge68
Bar · 1.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 68
- Black sea bass 60
- Atlantic cod 59
6 kt NH 5:58 AM · 7.3 ftL 11:50 AM · 2.2 ft
- Naushon Point Shoal56
Bar · 1.9 mi
Top: Atlantic codPeak season- Atlantic cod 56
- Haddock 56
- Little tunny 53
6 kt NH 5:58 AM · 7.3 ftL 11:50 AM · 2.2 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.