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Striped bassPeak seasonBar · Maine
The Reef
44.38°N · 68.39°W · Bar · Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 10 AM · Scup
- Now
- 652 AM EDT
- Best window
- 6 AM-2 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when The Reef 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
Friday, Oct 2 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 6 kt SSWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
94Water temp: 58°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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 yesterday
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
The Reef
- Depth
- 8-50 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · drop-off
- 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 The Reef
The Reef is a bar in Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME, Maine. Depth is 8-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 13 species here; the best right now are striped bass, scup and Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for striped bass, scup, Atlantic cod and black sea bass, 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. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September 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 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Western Bay67
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Atlantic cod 66
- Black sea bass 65
6 kt NNEL 3:07 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:15 AM · 9.2 ft
- Long Cove67
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 67
- Bluefish 58
- Scup 58
6 kt NNEL 2:56 AM · 1.1 ftH 9:06 AM · 9.7 ft
- Crystal Cove65
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 65
- Atlantic cod 61
- Scup 61
6 kt NNEL 2:29 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:06 AM · 9.3 ft
- The Ledge65
Bar · 0.7 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 65
- Scup 62
- Black sea bass 61
6 kt NNEL 2:29 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:06 AM · 9.3 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.