Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Bay · Maine

Seal Cove

43.83°N · 68.89°W · Bay · Penobscot Bay

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Best score today · 5 PM · Summer flounder

77/100Great
Now
412 PM EDT
Best window
4 PM-12 AMFlood 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 · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score41Fair
Tide1.7 ftLow
Current0.4 knmodeled · toward ENE
Wind7 kn NEgusts 13 · easing
Sea stateModerate3.1 ft · 6 s
Air temp56°Mild
WeatherClear6% cloud
Water58°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here

Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Summer flounder in Maine

Spot profile

Seal Cove

Depth
1-70 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonSummer flounder

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 Seal Cove

Seal Cove is a bay in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Depth is 1-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Camp Cove

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    60
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 60
    • Scup 59
    • Black sea bass 58

    7 kt NEH 8:37 PM · 8.7 ftL 2:29 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Wilson Head

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    60
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 60
    • Scup 59
    • Black sea bass 58

    7 kt NEH 8:37 PM · 8.7 ftL 2:29 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Deep Cove

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    59
    Top: Atlantic codPeak season
    • Atlantic cod 59
    • Scup 59
    • Black sea bass 58

    7 kt NEH 8:37 PM · 8.7 ftL 2:29 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Sunset Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    54
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 54
    • Black sea bass 51
    • Scup 51

    7 kt NEH 8:37 PM · 8.7 ftL 2:29 AM · 0.9 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.