Waterlands

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Atlantic bluefin tunaPeak season

Bay · Maine

Duck Harbor

44.89°N · 67.19°W · Bay · Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME

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Best score today · 7 PM · Atlantic bluefin tuna

83/100Great
Now
5810 AM EDT
Best window
6-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
High15.8 ft

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 87

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score58Good
Tide15.8 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind5 kn NEgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.8 ft · 6 s
Air temp54°Cool
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water55°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Always check with Maine DMR ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Atlantic bluefin tuna season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic bluefin tuna · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Atlantic bluefin tuna in Maine →

Spot profile

Duck Harbor

Depth
3-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
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 Duck Harbor

Duck Harbor is a bay in Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME, Maine. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are scup, black sea bass and Atlantic bluefin tuna. It is peak season now for scup, black sea bass, Atlantic bluefin tuna and striped bass, and shoulder season for tautog, summer flounder and mahi-mahi. Scup peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September. Atlantic bluefin tuna peak from July 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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Dennys Bay

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    75
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 75
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 59
    • Striped bass 58

    5 kt NEL 4:35 PM · 1.7 ftH 10:26 PM · 16.9 ft

  • Hurley Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 58
    • Striped bass 58

    5 kt NEL 4:35 PM · 1.7 ftH 10:26 PM · 16.9 ft

  • Bellier Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 58
    • Striped bass 56

    5 kt NEL 4:35 PM · 1.7 ftH 10:26 PM · 16.9 ft

  • Ox Cove

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Striped bass 61
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 59

    5 kt NEL 3:41 PM · 2.6 ftH 9:42 PM · 18.2 ft

Open in the tide map

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.