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Atlantic bluefin tunaPeak seasonBay · Maine
The Cows Yard
44.50°N · 67.53°W · Bay · Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 PM · Atlantic bluefin tuna
- Now
- 604 PM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when The Cows Yard 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 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
66Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
70Water temp: 53°F, coolLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.6 ftSeason & habitat · Atlantic bluefin tuna
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of 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 today
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
The Cows Yard
- Depth
- 5-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- 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 The Cows Yard
The Cows Yard is a bay in Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME, Maine. Depth is 5-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are striped bass, scup and little tunny. It is peak season now for striped bass, scup, little tunny and Atlantic cod, and shoulder season for tautog, summer flounder and mahi-mahi. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October. Scup peak from June through September. Little tunny peak 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Big Breaking Ledge74
Bar · 1.0 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 74
- Striped bass 73
- Atlantic cod 71
5 kt NNEH 9:14 PM · 11.8 ftL 3:40 AM · 0.8 ft
- Moose Ledge74
Bar · 1.0 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 74
- Striped bass 73
- Atlantic cod 70
5 kt NNEH 9:14 PM · 11.8 ftL 3:40 AM · 0.8 ft
- Head Harbor72
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 72
- Scup 70
- Black sea bass 67
5 kt NNEH 9:14 PM · 11.8 ftL 3:40 AM · 0.8 ft
- Hall Cove71
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 71
- Scup 69
- Little tunny 63
5 kt NNEH 9:14 PM · 11.8 ftL 3:40 AM · 0.8 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.