Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Summer flounderShoulder season

Bar · Massachusetts

Old Anthony Rock

43.54°N · 70.18°W · Bar · Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Summer flounder

75/100Great
Now
5512 AM EDT
Best window
6 AM-2 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing5.1 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Old Anthony Rock 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 · 12 AM · now

Time12ANOW
Score55Good
Tide5.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward ESE
Wind5 kn Ngusts 8 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.3 ft · 7 s
Air temp49°Cool
WeatherPartly cloudy20% cloud
Water59°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.

Source: MassDMF · synced yesterday

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

Old Anthony Rock

Depth
60-160 ftDrop-off
Structure
Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · 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 Old Anthony Rock

Old Anthony Rock is a bar in Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay. Depth is 60-160 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are Atlantic cod, black sea bass and haddock. It is peak season now for Atlantic cod, black sea bass, haddock 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. Haddock peak from May 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

  • Taylor Reef

    Bar · 1.4 mi

    73
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 73
    • Atlantic cod 72
    • Tautog 70

    5 kt NL 3:20 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:31 AM · 8.1 ft

  • Alden Rock

    Bar · 1.6 mi

    73
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 73
    • Atlantic cod 72
    • Tautog 70

    5 kt NL 3:20 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:31 AM · 8.1 ft

  • West Hue and Cry

    Bar · 1.1 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 72
    • Black sea bass 72
    • Haddock 69

    5 kt NL 3:20 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:31 AM · 8.1 ft

  • East Hue and Cry

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 72
    • Black sea bass 71
    • Haddock 68

    5 kt NL 3:20 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:31 AM · 8.1 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.