Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

BluefishPeak season

Cape · Massachusetts

Cow Beach Point

43.14°N · 70.62°W · Cape · Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Bluefish

78/100Great
Now
574 AM EDT
Best window
6-9 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.1 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Cow Beach Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score57Good
Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward E
Wind6 kn NNEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.0 ft · 6 s
Air temp47°Cool
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water62°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here

Peak season for Bluefish · 1 more week at peak

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

Bluefish in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Cow Beach Point

Depth
6-35 ftSlope
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · slope
Season
Peak seasonBluefish

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 Cow Beach Point

Cow Beach Point is a cape in Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay. Depth is 6-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are striped bass, little tunny and bluefish. It is peak season now for striped bass, little tunny, bluefish and scup, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Bluefish peak from June through July and in September.

Tackle & technique

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.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Roaring Rock Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    66
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 66
    • Little tunny 59
    • Bluefish 57

    6 kt NNEH 9:29 AM · 8.0 ftL 3:38 PM · 1.3 ft

  • East Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    66
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 66
    • Little tunny 59
    • Bluefish 57

    6 kt NNEH 9:29 AM · 8.0 ftL 3:38 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Prebbles Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    66
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 66
    • Little tunny 59
    • Bluefish 57

    6 kt NNEH 9:29 AM · 8.0 ftL 3:38 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Banks Rock

    Bar · 0.2 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Atlantic cod 59
    • Black sea bass 59

    6 kt NNEH 9:29 AM · 8.0 ftL 3:38 PM · 1.3 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.