Waterlands

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Atlantic codPeak season

Gut · Massachusetts

Chatham Harbor

41.68°N · 69.94°W · Gut · Nantucket Sound

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Best score today · 12 AM · Atlantic cod

83/100Great
Now
5110 AM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 28 · 6 AM

Time6A
Score45Good
Tide1.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.3 kn · toward SE
Wind24 kn ENEgusts 32 · steady
Sea stateRough5.4 ft · 6 s
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water59°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic cod 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 Atlantic cod is best here

Peak season for Atlantic cod · 5 more weeks at peak

Atlantic cod season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic cod · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic cod in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Chatham Harbor

Depth
2-20 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
Season
Peak seasonAtlantic cod

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 Chatham Harbor

Chatham Harbor is a gut in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. Depth is 2-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Stage Harbor

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Black sea bass 62
    • Little tunny 61

    16 kt NNEL 2:05 PM · 1.2 ftH 9:00 PM · 4.2 ft

  • Stage Island

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Scup 61
    • Striped bass 61

    16 kt NNEL 2:05 PM · 1.2 ftH 9:00 PM · 4.2 ft

  • Sears Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Scup 61
    • Striped bass 61

    16 kt NNEL 2:05 PM · 1.2 ftH 9:00 PM · 4.2 ft

  • Harding Beach Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Scup 61
    • Striped bass 61

    16 kt NNEL 2:05 PM · 1.2 ftH 9:00 PM · 4.2 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.