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ScupPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Little tunny
- Now
- 701 AM EDT
- Best window
- 6-10 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Musselbed Shoals 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
Thursday, Oct 1 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.1 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 7 kt NNWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
84Water temp: 65°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Little tunny
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable 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 RIDEM before you keep a fish.
Source: RIDEM · synced yesterday
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
Musselbed Shoals
- Depth
- 4-80 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · ProtectedShoal · drop-off
- 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 Musselbed Shoals
Musselbed Shoals is a bar in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Depth is 4-80 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 10 species here; the best right now are scup, bluefish and Atlantic cod. It is peak season now for scup, bluefish, Atlantic cod and little tunny, and shoulder season for summer flounder and tautog. Scup peak from June through September. Bluefish 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.
- Bluefish
- Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
- 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
- Arnold Point72
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 72
- Scup 70
- Little tunny 69
6 kt NNEH 5:42 AM · 3.5 ftL 10:45 AM · 0.9 ft
- Bristol Point71
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 71
- Scup 70
- Little tunny 69
5 kt NH 5:42 AM · 3.5 ftL 10:45 AM · 0.9 ft
- Hog Island Shoal70
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 70
- Bluefish 68
- Atlantic cod 67
5 kt NH 5:42 AM · 3.5 ftL 10:45 AM · 0.9 ft
- Old Orchard Cove68
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 68
- Striped bass 67
- Bluefish 66
5 kt NH 5:10 AM · 3.2 ftL 10:58 AM · 0.8 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 RIDEM before you keep a fish.