Species guide · Massachusetts
Striped bass fishing in Massachusetts
Morone saxatilis, a sea-run species also called striper, rockfish and rock. Listed for the New England region. Peak season, about 5 more weeks.
Right now it scores best in Rhode Island Sound at 80, one of 8 Massachusetts bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.
Season now
Peak seasonSeason by month
From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.
New England
Peak season, about 5 more weeks- Jan: Not present
- Feb: Not present
- Mar: Off season
- Apr: Off season
- May: Peak season
- Jun: Peak season
- Jul: Shoulder season
- Aug: Shoulder season
- Sep: Peak season
- Oct: Peak season
- Nov: Off season
- Dec: Not present
Peak: May to Jun, Sep to Oct. In season (shoulder or peak): May to Oct.
Research notes, New England region
Migrants reach Connecticut and Rhode Island in late April and May and Massachusetts and Maine by late May and June, stay through summer, and leave on the fall run from mid-September through October. Summer fish feed mostly at night. A few holdover fish winter in Connecticut and Massachusetts tidal rivers.
Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.
Where it's scoring now · 8
Massachusetts bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's striped bass score this hour.
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (80) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 5 PM (88) · 27 named spots
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (79) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 5 PM (87) · 151 named spots
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (80) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 6 PM (88) · 40 named spots
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (75) · Best day Sat, Sep 26 at 8 AM (86) · 158 named spots
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (72) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 7 PM (86) · 44 named spots
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (73) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 7 PM (86) · 409 named spots
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (71) · Best day Wed, Sep 16 at 7 PM (85) · 122 named spots
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (63) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 6 PM (79) · 2 named spots
How and where it feeds
- Water temperature
- Feeds from 45°F to 77°F, best between 55°F and 68°F.
- Water depth
- 2 to 60 ft of water.
- Structure
- Rip, inlet, point, jetty, surf, channel and bridge, in that order of preference.
- Tide and current
- Prefers moving water and outgoing tide, with moderate current.Moving water is the rule. The outgoing tide at inlets, creek mouths and estuary outflows flushes bait to waiting fish, while the incoming tide pushes fish onto flats and marsh edges. Tide rips off points and reefs fish best while the current is building, and dead slack is usually slow. Very strong current (Cape Cod Canal, the Race) fishes well for anglers who can hold bottom or swing lures through it.
- Light
- Bites best around dawn and dusk; feeds at night too.
- Pressure
- Tends to feed as pressure falls ahead of weather.
- Wind and sea limits
- 20 kt of wind and 5 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.
Tackle and technique
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.
- Methods
- casting, surfcasting, live lining, chunking, trolling, jigging, fly fishing
- Lures
- bucktail jigs, soft plastic swimbaits, topwater pencil poppers, metal spoons, swimming plugs, tube and worm, umbrella rigs
- Bait
- live menhaden (bunker), eels, clams, bloodworms and sandworms, mackerel, anchovy and sardine (California), shiner perch (California)
Regulations
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Synced with MassDMF Sep 16, 2026.
No reviewed striped bass rule for Massachusetts is on file yet. Check with MassDMF before you keep one.