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HaddockPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Haddock
- Now
- 675 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lower Hell Gate 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
Sunday, Oct 4 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
93Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.8 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 5 kt SPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 58°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Haddock
Species seasonality
74Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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 Maine DMR before you keep a fish.
Source: Maine DMR · 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
Lower Hell Gate
- Depth
- 5-45 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · drop-off
- 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 Lower Hell Gate
Lower Hell Gate is a channel in Casco Bay, Maine. Depth is 5-45 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 black sea bass. It is peak season now for striped bass, scup, black sea bass and Atlantic cod, 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 Point81
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 81
- Little tunny 75
- Bluefish 73
6 kt NH 8:39 PM · 8.5 ftL 3:18 AM · 1.3 ft
- Little Hell Gate79
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 79
- Scup 72
- Black sea bass 71
6 kt NH 8:18 PM · 8.5 ftL 2:49 AM · 1.3 ft
- The Boilers75
Bar · 0.3 mi
Top: BluefishPeak season- Bluefish 75
- Scup 75
- Striped bass 74
6 kt NH 8:39 PM · 8.5 ftL 3:18 AM · 1.3 ft
- Pea Cove75
Bay · 0.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 75
- Striped bass 74
- Black sea bass 73
6 kt NH 8:18 PM · 8.5 ftL 2:49 AM · 1.3 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.