Waterlands

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ScupPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Dog Bar

42.58°N · 70.67°W · Bar · Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay

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Best score today · 5 PM · Atlantic cod

72/100Great
Now
697 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding7.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score69Great
Tide7.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 5 s
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherOvercast90% cloud
Water61°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

Dog Bar

Depth
25-45 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 Dog Bar

Dog Bar is a bar in Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay. Depth is 25-45 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bar, outer water and exposed.

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

  • Eastern Point Ledge

    Bar · 0.5 mi

    77
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 77
    • Black sea bass 69
    • Atlantic cod 67

    4 kt ENEH 8:13 PM · 8.3 ftL 2:36 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Dog Bar Channel

    Channel · 0.1 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Striped bass 66

    4 kt ENEH 8:13 PM · 8.3 ftL 2:36 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Lighthouse Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Striped bass 66
    • Little tunny 63

    4 kt ENEH 8:13 PM · 8.3 ftL 2:36 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Round Rock Shoal

    Bar · 0.2 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Little tunny 64
    • Atlantic cod 63

    4 kt ENEH 8:13 PM · 8.3 ftL 2:36 AM · 1.4 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.