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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Scup
- Now
- 794 PM EDT
- Best window
- 4-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Steels Ledge scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Wednesday, Sep 23 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
98Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 2 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
88Water temp: 59°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.8 ftSeason & habitat · Scup
Species seasonality
93Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Scup is best here
Peak season for Scup · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Steels Ledge
- Depth
- 20-35 ftSlope
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Steels Ledge
Steels Ledge is a bar in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Depth is 20-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-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 haddock, 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
- Belfast Bay75
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 75
- Striped bass 71
- Black sea bass 69
6 kt NH 7:50 PM · 9.6 ftL 2:12 AM · 1.5 ft
- Patterson Point74
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 74
- Scup 70
- Black sea bass 69
6 kt NH 7:50 PM · 9.6 ftL 2:12 AM · 1.5 ft
- Moose Point74
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 74
- Scup 70
- Black sea bass 69
6 kt NH 7:50 PM · 9.6 ftL 2:12 AM · 1.5 ft
- Browns Head74
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 74
- Scup 70
- Black sea bass 69
6 kt NH 7:50 PM · 9.6 ftL 2:12 AM · 1.5 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.