Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

ScupPeak season

Bar · Maine

Haddock Ledge

44.29°N · 68.99°W · Bar · Penobscot Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · Scup

81/100Great
Now
6310 AM EDT
Best window
6-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.6 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Haddock Ledge scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions

Sunday, Sep 27 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score76Great
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward NE
Wind7 kn NWgusts 14 · steady
Air temp55°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water58°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Scup 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 Scup is best here

Peak season for Scup · 1 more week at peak

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

Scup in Maine

Spot profile

Haddock Ledge

Depth
40-160 ftDrop-off
Structure
Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · drop-off
Season
Peak seasonScup

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 Haddock Ledge

Haddock Ledge is a bar in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Depth is 40-160 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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

  • Ducktrap Harbor

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    68
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 68
    • Black sea bass 64
    • Scup 64

    7 kt NWH 4:55 PM · 9.7 ftL 11:22 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Grindel Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    67
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 67
    • Little tunny 57
    • Black sea bass 55

    7 kt NWH 4:58 PM · 9.1 ftL 11:33 PM · 1.7 ft

  • The Gut

    Gut · 2.5 mi

    65
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 65
    • Black sea bass 60
    • Scup 59

    7 kt NWH 4:58 PM · 9.1 ftL 11:33 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Philbrook Cove

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    64
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 64
    • Scup 59
    • Black sea bass 55

    7 kt NWH 4:58 PM · 9.1 ftL 11:33 PM · 1.7 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.