Waterlands

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HaddockPeak season

Bar · Rhode Island

Musselbed Shoals

41.64°N · 71.26°W · Bar · Narragansett Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Haddock

79/100Great
Now
6212 PM EDT
Best window
4-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score62Good
Tide1.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward NE
Wind12 kn NNEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy72% cloud
Water70°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Haddock is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with RIDEM before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Haddock is best here

Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak

Haddock season by week of the year. Peak season for Haddock · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Haddock in Rhode Island

Spot profile

Musselbed Shoals

Depth
4-80 ftDrop-off
Structure
Shoal · Inner · ProtectedShoal · drop-off
Season
Peak seasonHaddock

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, Atlantic cod and black sea bass. It is peak season now for scup, Atlantic cod, black sea bass and bluefish, and shoulder season for tautog and summer flounder. Scup peak from June through September. Atlantic cod peak from May through June and from September through October. Black sea bass peak from June through July and in September.

Tackle & technique

Haddock
Haddock feed on gravel, sand and clay bottom along the edges of banks and ledges, mostly in 120 to 400 feet. They have small, soft mouths, so fish clam or squid on small hooks on a high-low rig, or a light jig with teasers, right on the bottom. Set the hook gently and keep steady pressure on the way up.
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.
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

  • Bristol Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Atlantic cod 66
    • Black sea bass 66

    12 kt NNEH 5:05 PM · 4.0 ftL 10:56 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Hog Island Shoal

    Bar · 0.8 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Atlantic cod 66
    • Black sea bass 66

    12 kt NNEH 5:05 PM · 4.0 ftL 10:56 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Arnold Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Atlantic cod 64
    • Black sea bass 64

    13 kt NNEH 5:05 PM · 4.0 ftL 10:56 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Old Orchard Cove

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Little tunny 60
    • Bluefish 59

    12 kt NNEH 4:47 PM · 3.3 ftL 11:08 PM · 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 RIDEM before you keep a fish.