Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Cape · Massachusetts

Flat Point

42.65°N · 70.59°W · Cape · Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay

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Best score today · 12 AM · Summer flounder

78/100Great
Now
384 PM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score38Fair
Tide2.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind12 kn NEgusts 18 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.7 ft · 6 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy80% cloud
Water60°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here

Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at shoulder

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Flat Point

Depth
10-70 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonSummer flounder

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 Flat Point

Flat Point is a cape in Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay. Depth in the nearest water is 10-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Loblolly Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    64
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 64
    • Little tunny 57
    • Black sea bass 56

    12 kt NEH 9:04 PM · 8.4 ftL 3:23 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Cape Ann

    Cape · 0.0 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 62
    • Striped bass 62
    • Black sea bass 60

    12 kt NEH 9:04 PM · 8.4 ftL 3:23 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Gully Point Cove

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    61
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 61
    • Black sea bass 60
    • Scup 59

    12 kt NEH 9:04 PM · 8.4 ftL 3:23 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Gap Head

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    61
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 61
    • Black sea bass 60
    • Scup 59

    12 kt NEH 9:04 PM · 8.4 ftL 3:23 AM · 1.1 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.