Waterlands

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ScupPeak season

Bar · Maine

Inner Ledges

44.21°N · 69.05°W · Bar · Penobscot Bay

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Best score today · 8 AM · Scup

73/100Great
Now
739 AM EDT
Best window
9 AM-12 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing7.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Sep 29 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score72Great
Tide8.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward S
Wind6 kn Egusts 17 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast85% 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.

Source: Maine DMR · synced yesterday

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

Inner Ledges

Depth
25-45 ftSlope
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · slope
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 Inner Ledges

Inner Ledges is a bar in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Depth is 25-45 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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.
Haddock
Haddock feed on gravel, sand and clay bottom along the edges of banks and ledges, mostly in 120 to 400 feet. They have small, soft mouths, so fish clam or squid on small hooks on a high-low rig, or a light jig with teasers, right on the bottom. Set the hook gently and keep steady pressure on the way up.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Northeast Ledge

    Bar · 0.2 mi

    81
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 81
    • Black sea bass 73
    • Atlantic cod 71

    6 kt NNWL 1:36 PM · 2.3 ftH 7:57 PM · 9.3 ft

  • Outer Ledges

    Bar · 0.2 mi

    80
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 80
    • Black sea bass 72
    • Atlantic cod 71

    6 kt NNWL 1:36 PM · 2.3 ftH 7:57 PM · 9.3 ft

  • Camden Harbor

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    80
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 80
    • Black sea bass 71
    • Striped bass 70

    6 kt NNWL 1:36 PM · 2.3 ftH 7:57 PM · 9.3 ft

  • Northeast Passage

    Channel · 0.3 mi

    78
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 78
    • Black sea bass 70
    • Striped bass 69

    6 kt NNWL 1:36 PM · 2.3 ftH 7:57 PM · 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.