Waterlands

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BluefishPeak season

Cape · Maine

Dodges Point

44.38°N · 68.76°W · Cape · Penobscot Bay

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Best score today · 5 PM · Bluefish

81/100Great
Now
541 PM EDT
Best window
5-7 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score54Good
Tide2.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward WSW
Wind7 kn NNWgusts 18 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy39% cloud
Water57°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here

Peak season for Bluefish · 1 more week at peak

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

Bluefish in Maine

Spot profile

Dodges Point

Depth
1-15 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · slope
Season
Peak seasonBluefish

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 Dodges Point

Dodges Point is a cape in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Depth in the nearest water is 1-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are striped bass, little tunny and black sea bass. It is peak season now for striped bass, little tunny, black sea bass and scup, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Striped bass peak from May through June and from September through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September.

Tackle & technique

Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Trott Ledge

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    66
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 66
    • Black sea bass 65
    • Atlantic cod 64

    7 kt NNWL 1:40 PM · 2.4 ftH 7:56 PM · 9.4 ft

  • Hosmer Ledge

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    66
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 66
    • Atlantic cod 65
    • Black sea bass 65

    7 kt NNWL 1:40 PM · 2.4 ftH 7:56 PM · 9.4 ft

  • Middle Ground

    Bar · 1.4 mi

    65
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 65
    • Scup 65
    • Black sea bass 64

    7 kt NNWL 1:40 PM · 2.4 ftH 7:56 PM · 9.4 ft

  • Smith Cove

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Striped bass 58
    • Black sea bass 57

    7 kt NNWL 1:40 PM · 2.4 ftH 7:56 PM · 9.4 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.