Waterlands

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Atlantic codPeak season

Flat · Massachusetts

Common Flat

41.64°N · 70.00°W · Flat · Nantucket Sound

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Best score today · 12 AM · Atlantic cod

75/100Great
Now
518 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding4.0 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Oct 3 · 10 PM

Time10P
Score59Good
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward SE
Wind5 kn SSEgusts 9 · steady
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast97% cloud
Water61°FPersisted

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.

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

Common Flat

Depth
3-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Flat · Inner · Semi-exposedFlat · flat bottom
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 Common Flat

Common Flat is a flat in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. Depth is 3-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads flat, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

  • Chatham Roads

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Black sea bass 61
    • Striped bass 60

    12 kt NEH 9:00 PM · 4.2 ftL 2:58 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Blue Bill Hole

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Bluefish 57
    • Black sea bass 53

    12 kt NEH 9:00 PM · 4.2 ftL 2:58 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Blue Bill Hole

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Bluefish 52
    • Striped bass 52

    18 kt NEH 9:00 PM · 4.2 ftL 2:58 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Salls Drain

    Gut · 1.6 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Black sea bass 54
    • Striped bass 53

    18 kt NEH 9:00 PM · 4.2 ftL 2:58 AM · 0.9 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.