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Atlantic bluefin tunaPeak seasonBar · Maine
Birch Point Ledge
44.91°N · 67.06°W · Bar · Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Atlantic bluefin tuna
- Now
- 554 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Birch Point Ledge 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 4 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
25Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
87Wind: 4 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
50Water temp: 54°F, coolLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Atlantic bluefin tuna
Species seasonality
98Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Atlantic bluefin tuna 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 bluefin tuna is best here
Peak season for Atlantic bluefin tuna · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Birch Point Ledge
- Depth
- 30-110 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · drop-off
- Season
- Peak seasonAtlantic bluefin tuna
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 Birch Point Ledge
Birch Point Ledge is a bar in Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME, Maine. Depth is 30-110 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are scup, striped bass and Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for scup, striped bass, Atlantic cod and black sea bass, and shoulder season for tautog, summer flounder and mahi-mahi. Scup peak from June through September. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Atlantic bluefin tuna
- Bluefin tuna follow schools of herring, mackerel, sand eels and menhaden over banks, ledges and shoals, mostly in the top 150 feet. Troll spreader bars and daisy chains to find fish, then switch to live bait, chunks or stick baits once a school is located. Heavy tackle and a NOAA HMS permit are required, and size-class limits change through the season.
- 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
- Cobscook Bay64
Bay · 0.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 64
- Striped bass 64
- Atlantic cod 63
4 kt NNEH 9:09 AM · 16.9 ftL 3:22 PM · 2.3 ft
- Gove Point63
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 63
- Atlantic cod 60
- Scup 59
4 kt NNEH 9:39 AM · 15.1 ftL 4:00 PM · 2.3 ft
- Sheep Cove62
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 62
- Striped bass 61
- Atlantic cod 60
4 kt NNEH 9:23 AM · 17.0 ftL 3:41 PM · 2.6 ft
- Lincoln Cove61
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 61
- Scup 59
- Atlantic bluefin tuna 53
4 kt NNEH 9:23 AM · 17.0 ftL 3:41 PM · 2.6 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.