Waterlands

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BluefishPeak season

Bar · Massachusetts

Norton Point

41.35°N · 70.48°W · Bar · Nantucket Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 PM · Bluefish

85/100Epic
Now
817 PM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score81Great
Tide0.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb2.1 kn · toward SSW
Wind11 kn SWgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 6 s
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here

Peak season for Bluefish · 2 more weeks at peak

Bluefish season by week of the year. Peak season for Bluefish · 2 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Bluefish in Massachusetts

Spot profile

Norton Point

Depth
7-20 ftSlope
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · slope
Season
Peak seasonBluefish

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 Norton Point

Norton Point is a bar in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. Depth is 7-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are bluefish, striped bass and little tunny. It is peak season now for bluefish, striped bass, little tunny and Atlantic cod, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Bluefish peak from June through July and in September. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Bluefish Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    82
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 82
    • Little tunny 81
    • Bluefish 80

    11 kt SWL 10:24 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:28 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Quohog Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    82
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 82
    • Little tunny 81
    • Bluefish 80

    11 kt SWL 10:24 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:28 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Katama Bay

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    80
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 80
    • Striped bass 78
    • Little tunny 77

    11 kt SWL 8:56 PM · 0.2 ftH 2:37 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Mattakeset Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    80
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 80
    • Striped bass 79
    • Little tunny 77

    11 kt SWL 10:24 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:28 AM · 1.8 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.