Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Channel · Maine

York Narrows

44.18°N · 68.47°W · Channel · Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME

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Best score today · 6 PM · Tautog

81/100Great
Now
543 PM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Low1.7 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score54Good
Tide1.7 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind6 kn NEgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 5 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water57°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Tautog is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with Maine DMR before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Tautog is best here

Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder

Tautog season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Tautog in Maine

Spot profile

York Narrows

Depth
15-50 ftDrop-off
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonTautog

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 York Narrows

York Narrows is a channel in Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME, Maine. Depth is 15-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads channel, 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

Tautog
Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
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

  • Hawley Ledge

    Bar · 0.1 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 61
    • Atlantic cod 60

    6 kt NEH 9:21 PM · 10.1 ftL 3:43 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Long Ledge

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 61
    • Atlantic cod 60

    6 kt NEH 9:21 PM · 10.1 ftL 3:43 AM · 0.8 ft

  • 62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 59
    • Black sea bass 59

    6 kt NEH 9:21 PM · 10.1 ftL 3:43 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Casco Passage

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 59
    • Black sea bass 58

    6 kt NEH 9:21 PM · 10.1 ftL 3:43 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.