Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

HaddockPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Gardiners Rock

41.62°N · 70.29°W · Bar · Nantucket Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · Haddock

72/100Great
Now
635 PM EDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.0 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Gardiners 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 · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score63Good
Tide2.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.8 kn · toward N
Wind17 kn NNEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy72% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Haddock 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 Haddock is best here

Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak

Haddock season by week of the year. Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Haddock in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Gardiners Rock

Depth
15-20 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonHaddock

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 Gardiners Rock

Gardiners Rock is a bar in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, scup and bluefish. It is peak season now for black sea bass, scup, bluefish and little tunny, 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. Bluefish peak from June through July and in September.

Tackle & technique

Haddock
Haddock feed on gravel, sand and clay bottom along the edges of banks and ledges, mostly in 120 to 400 feet. They have small, soft mouths, so fish clam or squid on small hooks on a high-low rig, or a light jig with teasers, right on the bottom. Set the hook gently and keep steady pressure on the way up.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Dunbar Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    78
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 78
    • Little tunny 77
    • Bluefish 72

    10 kt NNEH 9:02 PM · 3.5 ftL 2:54 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Hyannis Harbor

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    77
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 77
    • Little tunny 75
    • Black sea bass 73

    10 kt NNEH 9:02 PM · 3.5 ftL 2:54 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Point Gammon

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    73
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 73
    • Little tunny 72
    • Bluefish 67

    17 kt NNEH 9:02 PM · 3.5 ftL 2:54 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Great Island

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    73
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 73
    • Little tunny 72
    • Bluefish 67

    17 kt NNEH 9:02 PM · 3.5 ftL 2:54 AM · 0.8 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.