Waterlands

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Atlantic codPeak season

Bay · Maine

Searsport Harbor

44.45°N · 68.92°W · Bay · Penobscot Bay

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Best score today · 8 AM · Atlantic cod

86/100Epic
Now
4611 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMNight bite
Tide now
Low1.8 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Sep 30 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score66Great
Tide5.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward WSW
Wind7 kn SEgusts 19 · steady
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy54% cloud
Water59°FPersisted

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

Searsport Harbor

Depth
15-35 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Searsport Harbor

Searsport Harbor is a bay in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Depth is 15-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are striped bass, scup and black sea bass. It is peak season now for striped bass, scup, black sea bass and bluefish, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Striped bass 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

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.
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.
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

  • Mack Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    64
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 64
    • Bluefish 57
    • Little tunny 53

    9 kt NNWH 5:41 AM · 8.7 ftL 11:34 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Long Cove

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    62
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 62
    • Bluefish 57
    • Scup 56

    9 kt NNWH 5:41 AM · 8.7 ftL 11:34 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Long Cove Ledge

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Black sea bass 59
    • Bluefish 58

    9 kt NNWH 5:41 AM · 8.7 ftL 11:34 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Sears Island Ledge

    Bar · 2.0 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Black sea bass 59
    • Bluefish 58

    9 kt NNWH 5:41 AM · 8.7 ftL 11:34 AM · 2.5 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.