Waterlands

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ScupPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Cole Ridge

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

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Best score today · 7 PM · Scup

75/100Great
Now
632 AM EDT
Best window
2-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding3.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 AM · now

Time2ANOW
Score63Good
Tide3.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward WSW
Wind7 kn Ngusts 15 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherOvercast99% cloud
Water63°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Scup is best here

Peak season for Scup · 1 more week at peak

Scup season by week of the year. Peak season for Scup · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Scup in Massachusetts

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 Atlantic cod, haddock and little tunny. It is peak season now for Atlantic cod, haddock, little tunny and black sea bass, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October. Haddock peak from May through September. Little tunny peak 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Newcomb Ledge

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Black sea bass 72
    • Bluefish 71

    7 kt NH 5:58 AM · 7.2 ftL 11:49 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Middle Breakers

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    72
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 72
    • Black sea bass 71
    • Bluefish 71

    7 kt NH 5:58 AM · 7.2 ftL 11:49 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Kettle Island Ledge

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Black sea bass 70
    • Atlantic cod 69

    7 kt NH 5:58 AM · 7.3 ftL 11:50 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Naushon Point Shoal

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    66
    Top: HaddockPeak season
    • Haddock 66
    • Atlantic cod 65
    • Little tunny 64

    7 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.