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Striped bassPeak seasonBay · Maine
Half Moon Cove
44.93°N · 67.04°W · Bay · Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Striped bass
- Now
- 688 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding16.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Half Moon Cove 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 · 8 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
56Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.9 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
64Wind: 5 kt NNWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
83Water temp: 55°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Striped bass 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 Striped bass is best here
Peak season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Half Moon Cove
- Depth
- Up to 8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonStriped bass
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 Half Moon Cove
Half Moon Cove is a bay in Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME, Maine. Depth is up to 8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are striped bass, scup and Atlantic bluefin tuna. It is peak season now for striped bass, scup, Atlantic bluefin tuna and bluefish, and shoulder season for summer flounder, tautog and mahi-mahi. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October. Scup peak from June through September. Atlantic bluefin tuna peak from July through October.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Mitchell Point73
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 73
- Striped bass 69
- Little tunny 61
5 kt NNWH 8:40 PM · 17.3 ftL 3:01 AM · 1.8 ft
- Taylor Point69
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 69
- Scup 66
- Little tunny 61
5 kt NNWH 8:40 PM · 17.3 ftL 3:01 AM · 1.8 ft
- Bar Harbor68
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 68
- Striped bass 68
- Little tunny 59
5 kt NNWH 8:40 PM · 17.3 ftL 3:01 AM · 1.8 ft
- Western Passage66
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 66
- Striped bass 61
- Atlantic bluefin tuna 60
5 kt NNWH 8:40 PM · 17.3 ftL 3:01 AM · 1.8 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.