Waterlands

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Yellowfin tunaPeak season

Bay · Maine

Bunker Hole

44.55°N · 67.51°W · Bay · Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME

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Best score today · 11 PM · Yellowfin tuna

84/100Great
Now
547 AM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding8.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score54Good
Tide8.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind4 kn NNEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 6 s
Air temp48°Cool
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water54°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Yellowfin 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 Yellowfin tuna is best here

Peak season for Yellowfin tuna · 1 more week at peak

Yellowfin tuna season by week of the year. Peak season for Yellowfin tuna · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Yellowfin tuna in Maine

Spot profile

Bunker Hole

Depth
4-70 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · drop-off
Season
Peak seasonYellowfin 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 Bunker Hole

Bunker Hole is a bay in Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME, Maine. Depth is 4-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are Atlantic cod, scup and black sea bass. It is peak season now for Atlantic cod, scup, black sea bass and striped bass, and shoulder season for tautog, summer flounder and mahi-mahi. Atlantic cod 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

Yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin feed in blue water along canyon edges, the shelf break, current edges, deepwater platforms and FADs, usually from the surface to about 300 feet. Troll ballyhoo, spreader bars and cedar plugs early in the day, then chunk butterfish or sardines, fish live hardtails, or drop jigs to marks. Around Gulf platforms and in the canyons the night bite on chunks and jigs is often better than the day.
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.
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

  • Great Spruce Ledges

    Bar · 0.3 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 74
    • Scup 73
    • Black sea bass 72

    4 kt NNEH 9:04 AM · 11.1 ftL 3:09 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Wallace Ledge

    Bar · 0.5 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 74
    • Scup 73
    • Black sea bass 72

    4 kt NNEH 9:05 AM · 10.6 ftL 3:08 PM · 1.8 ft

  • Bunker Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    72
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 72
    • Scup 70
    • Black sea bass 65

    4 kt NNEH 9:04 AM · 11.1 ftL 3:09 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Thorofare

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    72
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 72
    • Black sea bass 70
    • Scup 70

    4 kt NNEH 9:04 AM · 11.1 ftL 3:09 PM · 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.