Waterlands

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Atlantic codPeak season

Cape · Maine

Grindel Point

44.28°N · 68.94°W · Cape · Penobscot Bay

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Best score today · 6 PM · Atlantic cod

85/100Epic
Now
504 PM EDT
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High9.5 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score50Good
Tide9.5 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind4 kn SSEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 6 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast31% chance of rain
Water58°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic cod 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 Atlantic cod is best here

Peak season for Atlantic cod · 6 more weeks at peak

Atlantic cod season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic cod · 6 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic cod in Maine

Spot profile

Grindel Point

Depth
4-40 ftSlope
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · slope
Season
Peak seasonAtlantic cod

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 Grindel Point

Grindel Point is a cape in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Depth is 4-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Long Ledge

    Bar · 0.9 mi

    77
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 77
    • Black sea bass 62
    • Striped bass 61

    4 kt SSEL 10:35 PM · 1.3 ftH 4:51 AM · 8.3 ft

  • Broad Cove

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Striped bass 65
    • Black sea bass 54

    4 kt SSEL 10:35 PM · 1.3 ftH 4:51 AM · 8.3 ft

  • Long Ledge Cove

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Striped bass 65
    • Black sea bass 54

    4 kt SSEL 10:35 PM · 1.3 ftH 4:51 AM · 8.3 ft

  • Broad Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Striped bass 68
    • Black sea bass 54

    4 kt SSEL 10:35 PM · 1.3 ftH 4:51 AM · 8.3 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.