UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
HaddockPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 2 AM · Haddock
- Now
- 536 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.0 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when West Gutter scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Saturday, Oct 3 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
92Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 5 kt SPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
58Water temp: 63°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Haddock
Species seasonality
49Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: MassDMF · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Haddock is best here
Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
West Gutter
- Depth
- 2-10 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
- 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 West Gutter
West Gutter is a gut in Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts. Depth is 2-10 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are scup, striped bass and black sea bass. It is peak season now for scup, striped bass, black sea bass and little tunny, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Scup peak from June through September. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October. Black sea bass 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Inner Harbor76
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 76
- Striped bass 73
- Little tunny 72
7 kt NEL 11:31 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:22 AM · 3.0 ft
- Middle Gate75
Gut · 0.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 75
- Striped bass 72
- Black sea bass 66
7 kt NEL 11:31 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:22 AM · 3.0 ft
- East Gutter75
Gut · 0.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 75
- Striped bass 72
- Black sea bass 66
7 kt NEL 11:31 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:22 AM · 3.0 ft
- Lackeys Bay71
Bay · 0.3 mi
Top: BluefishPeak season- Bluefish 71
- Scup 70
- Striped bass 68
7 kt NEL 11:31 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:22 AM · 3.0 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.