Waterlands

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ScupOff season

Bar · Maine

Sprague Ledge

44.34°N · 68.92°W · Bar · Penobscot Bay

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Best score today · 5 PM · Scup

82/100Great
Now
356 PM EST
Best window
6-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing7.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 7 · 6 AM

Time6A
Score35Fair
Tide5.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward N
Wind9 kn Ngusts 17 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.9 ft · 6 s
Air temp51°Cool
WeatherOvercast46% chance of rain
Water53°FModel

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

Out of season for Scup · it leaves next week

Scup season by week of the year. Out of season for Scup · it leaves next week.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Scup in Maine →

Spot profile

Sprague Ledge

Depth
20-90 ftDrop-off
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · drop-off
Season
Off 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 Sprague Ledge

Sprague Ledge is a bar in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Depth is 20-90 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 9 species here; the best right now are tautog, Atlantic cod and haddock. It is peak season now for tautog, and shoulder season for Atlantic cod, haddock, striped bass and little tunny. Tautog peak in May and from October through November. 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.
Tautog
Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
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

  • Barley Ledge

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    79
    Top: TautogPeak season
    • Tautog 79
    • Atlantic cod 72
    • Haddock 64

    8 kt SWL 10:10 PM · 0.2 ftH 4:29 AM · 9.6 ft

  • Seal Harbor

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    77
    Top: TautogPeak season
    • Tautog 77
    • Atlantic cod 72
    • Striped bass 71

    8 kt SWL 10:10 PM · 0.2 ftH 4:29 AM · 9.6 ft

  • Sprague Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    74
    Top: TautogPeak season
    • Tautog 74
    • Striped bass 68
    • Atlantic cod 62

    8 kt SWL 10:10 PM · 0.2 ftH 4:29 AM · 9.6 ft

  • Ruder Cove

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    74
    Top: TautogPeak season
    • Tautog 74
    • Striped bass 68
    • Atlantic cod 61

    8 kt SWL 10:10 PM · 0.2 ftH 4:29 AM · 9.6 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.