Waterlands

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HaddockPeak season

Channel · Maine

Little Hell Gate

43.87°N · 69.74°W · Channel · Casco Bay

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Best score today · 4 PM · Haddock

84/100Great
Now
584 PM EDT
Best window
4-7 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding5.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score58Good
Tide5.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.4 kn · toward WNW
Wind3 kn SEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 5 s
Air temp55°Mild
WeatherOvercast73% chance of rain
Water61°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 Maine DMR 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 Maine

Spot profile

Little Hell Gate

Depth
3-20 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 Little Hell Gate

Little Hell Gate is a channel in Casco Bay, Maine. Depth is 3-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are striped bass, scup and black sea bass. It is peak season now for striped bass, scup, black sea bass and little tunny, 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. 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.
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

  • North Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    85
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 85
    • Little tunny 76
    • Bluefish 72

    3 kt SEH 7:41 PM · 8.3 ftL 2:23 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Lower Hell Gate

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    83
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 83
    • Scup 74
    • Black sea bass 72

    3 kt SEH 7:41 PM · 8.3 ftL 2:23 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Thomas Cove

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    83
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 83
    • Bluefish 73
    • Little tunny 73

    3 kt SEH 7:20 PM · 8.3 ftL 1:54 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Pea Cove

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    78
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 78
    • Scup 75
    • Black sea bass 72

    3 kt SEH 7:20 PM · 8.3 ftL 1:54 AM · 1.5 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.