Waterlands

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Black sea bassPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Emersons Rocks

42.71°N · 70.77°W · Bar · Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Scup

81/100Great
Now
7210 AM EDT
Best window
4-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing6.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score72Great
Tide6.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward S
Wind7 kn NNEgusts 17 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy56% cloud
Water64°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Peak season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at peak

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

Black sea bass in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Emersons Rocks

Depth
7-20 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · slope
Season
Peak seasonBlack sea bass

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 Emersons Rocks

Emersons Rocks is a bar in Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay. Depth is 7-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Ipswich Bluff

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Striped bass 70
    • Bluefish 67

    7 kt NNEL 2:10 PM · 1.9 ftH 8:19 PM · 8.4 ft

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Striped bass 70
    • Bluefish 66

    7 kt NNEL 2:10 PM · 1.9 ftH 8:19 PM · 8.4 ft

  • Plum Island Sound

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Scup 68
    • Striped bass 67

    7 kt NNEL 2:10 PM · 1.9 ftH 8:19 PM · 8.4 ft

  • Third Creek

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    69
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 69
    • Scup 68
    • Striped bass 68

    7 kt NNEL 2:10 PM · 1.9 ftH 8:19 PM · 8.4 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.