Waterlands

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Atlantic codPeak season

Channel · Maine

Fiddler Reach

43.88°N · 69.80°W · Channel · Casco Bay

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Best score today · 12 AM · Atlantic cod

82/100Great
Now
623 AM EDT
Best window
6-10 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Oct 2 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score75Great
Tide5.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward ESE
Wind5 kn Egusts 11 · steady
Air temp59°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water60°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 Maine DMR before you keep a fish.

Source: Maine DMR · synced yesterday

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 Maine

Spot profile

Fiddler Reach

Depth
35-90 ftDrop-off
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · drop-off
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 Fiddler Reach

Fiddler Reach is a channel in Casco Bay, Maine. Depth is 35-90 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

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

  • Fiddler Ledge

    Bar · 0.3 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Striped bass 64
    • Black sea bass 63

    4 kt NH 8:30 AM · 7.4 ftL 2:28 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Lithgow Rock

    Bar · 0.5 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Striped bass 64
    • Black sea bass 63

    4 kt NH 8:30 AM · 7.4 ftL 2:28 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Morse Cove

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Striped bass 64
    • Atlantic cod 62

    4 kt NH 8:30 AM · 7.4 ftL 2:28 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Lincoln Ledge

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Striped bass 63
    • Black sea bass 61

    4 kt NH 8:37 AM · 5.8 ftL 2:46 PM · 1.4 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 Maine DMR before you keep a fish.