Waterlands

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Winter flounderOff season

Bay · Maine

Old Cove

44.08°N · 68.60°W · Bay · Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME

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Best score today · 11 PM · Winter flounder

85/100Epic
Now
289 AM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High8.4 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: today · 85

24-hour conditions

Sunday, Sep 27 · 12 AM

Time12A
Score28Fair
Tide9.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind23 kn NEgusts 35 · steady
Sea stateRough5.6 ft · 6 s
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherOvercast63% chance of rain
Water57°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Winter flounder 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 Winter flounder is best here

Out of season for Winter flounder · it leaves in 10 weeks

Winter flounder season by week of the year. Out of season for Winter flounder · it leaves in 10 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Winter flounder in Maine →

Spot profile

Old Cove

Depth
Up to 50 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
Season
Off seasonWinter flounder

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 Old Cove

Old Cove is a bay in Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME, Maine. Depth is up to 50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are scup, Atlantic bluefin tuna and Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for scup, Atlantic bluefin tuna, Atlantic cod and black sea bass, and shoulder season for tautog, summer flounder and mahi-mahi. Scup peak from June through September. Atlantic bluefin tuna peak from July through October. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Winter flounder
Winter flounder spend late winter and spring on mud and sand bottom in harbors, coves and tidal channels, often in 5 to 30 feet. Anchor, chum with crushed clams or mussels, and fish small long-shank hooks with worm or clam on the bottom, tapping the rig to stir up mud. The bite is light, so use a sensitive rod.
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

View all on map →
  • Airy Ledge

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    70
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 70
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 59
    • Atlantic cod 57

    13 kt NEL 2:42 PM · 1.3 ftH 9:17 PM · 9.3 ft

  • Richs Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 59
    • Atlantic cod 57

    13 kt NEL 2:42 PM · 1.3 ftH 9:17 PM · 9.3 ft

  • Pond Point

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 59
    • Striped bass 57

    13 kt NEL 2:42 PM · 1.3 ftH 9:17 PM · 9.3 ft

  • Burnt Island Thorofare

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 56
    • Striped bass 56

    13 kt NEL 2:42 PM · 1.3 ftH 9:17 PM · 9.3 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.