Cape Cod Bay fishing conditions and tides
Massachusetts · Atlantic coast · 9.8 ft mean tide range · 32 ppt
Migratory striped bass, bluefin tuna and the deepest tide swings on the Northeast coast
Current conditions
Excellent
Fishing score 84/100
How this score is calculated
53°F against a 52–68°F band for striped bass.
Incoming (flood) at 1.4 ft, moving 0.9 ft/hr. Moderate movement; fish the tightest current seams you can find.
7 mph out of the SW. Workable wind with useful chop.
0.8 ft at 8 seconds. Good working surf for beaches and inlets.
Very clear — lighten your leader and lengthen your casts.
30.27 inHg and falling.
56% illumination — neap tides with a smaller exchange.
Fall pattern is fully established for this zone.
What should I do today?
The highest-percentage pattern for this tide and this wind.
Backup pattern
Bluefish — topwater poppers and metal in 2–30 ft. Blitz pods work the surface off Sandy Neck and the harbor mouths in July and August.
Right now
Current conditions
Tide
Incoming (flood)
1.4 ft, +0.9 ft/hr
Next high
8:17 AM
8.9 ft
Next low
2:30 PM
0.9 ft
Mean range
9.8 ft
Typical high-to-low swing
Water temp
53°F
-0.1°F / 3 days
Water clarity
Clear
Salinity about 32 ppt
Swell
0.8 ft
8 second period
Wind
7 mph
Out of the SW
Pressure
30.27"
Falling pressure — a change is moving in
Air temp
66°F
10% cloud cover
Moon
56%
First Quarter · solunar 12/100
Daylight
6:06 AM
Sunset 4:45 PM
Timing
Today's tides and fishing windows
- Low tide (1.5 ft) — tide change window1:05 AM – 3:05 AM
- Solunar major 25:23 AM – 7:23 AM
- Morning prime window5:41 AM – 8:26 AM
- Sunrise6:06 AM
- High tide (8.9 ft) — tide change window7:17 AM – 9:17 AM
- Low tide (0.9 ft) — tide change window1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
- Evening window2:45 PM – 5:20 PM
- Sunset4:45 PM
- Solunar major 15:23 PM – 7:23 PM
- High tide (8.3 ft) — tide change window7:43 PM – 9:43 PM
Targets
Target species in this zone
| Species | Activity | Depth | Best tide | Technique | Bait | Active temp | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Striped Bass | ★★★★★ | 1–25 ft | First half of the flood, and the last of the ebb on the drains | Sight casting soft plastics on the flats, live mackerel on the deep edges | Sand eels, mackerel | 52–68°F | Mid-May through October |
| Bluefish | ★★★★☆ | 2–30 ft | Moving water, either direction | Topwater poppers and metal | Peanut bunker | 58–72°F | June through September |
| Black Sea Bass | ★★★★☆ | 35–80 ft | Slack to early moving water | Jigging bucktails and diamond jigs | Squid, clam | 56–70°F | June through September |
| Fluke (Summer Flounder) | ★★★☆☆ | 10–45 ft | Drifting on a moderate current | Bucktail and teaser drift | Squid strips, sand eels | 58–72°F | June through August |
- Striped Bass: Cruise the Brewster flats on the first two hours of flood, then drop to the channel edges as the flats heat up.
- Bluefish: Blitz pods work the surface off Sandy Neck and the harbor mouths in July and August.
- Black Sea Bass: Stack on rock piles and wrecks in 40–70 ft once water passes 58°F.
- Fluke (Summer Flounder): Drift the sand-to-mud transitions inside Barnstable and along the Sagamore shoreline.
Structure
Habitat and structure that holds fish
- Sand flats
- Eelgrass
- Rock reef
- Deep channel edge
- Billingsgate Shoal
- Brewster flats drains
- Barnstable Harbor channel edge
- Race Point rip
- Scorton Ledge
Surf and beach notes
Sandy Neck and the Outer Cape beaches fish well with 2–4 ft of surf; anything over 6 ft turns the wash to sand soup.
Bait in the zone
Sand eels dominate spring through midsummer, then peanut bunker and mullet take over from late August.
Patterns
Season-by-season patterns
Spring
42–56°FFirst schoolie bass push into the warm back harbors and estuary mouths in mid-May; the flats bite starts once the water holds above 52°F.
Summer
58–68°FBass go nocturnal and tide-driven; sea bass and fluke fill in the daytime hours over structure in 40–70 ft.
Fall
50–64°FRace Point and the canal load up with fish staging for the southward run — peanut bunker and mullet drive surface blitzes.
Winter
38–44°FGamefish are gone; cod and holdover schoolies in deep harbor holes are the only remaining option.
Outlook
7-day fishing forecast
| Day | Score | Water | Wind | Swell | First high tide | Best species | Morning window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 84Excellent | 53°F | 7 mph SW | 0.8 ft | 8:17 AM (8.9 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:41 AM – 8:26 AM |
| Tue | 69Good | 53°F | 3 mph W | 0.3 ft | 9:08 AM (9.4 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:42 AM – 8:27 AM |
| Wed | 86Excellent | 56°F | 13 mph NW | 2.5 ft | 9:58 AM (9.8 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:43 AM – 8:28 AM |
| Thu | 89Excellent | 53°F | 6 mph SW | 0.7 ft | 10:49 AM (10.2 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:45 AM – 8:30 AM |
| Fri | 90Excellent | 55°F | 4 mph N | 0.3 ft | 11:39 AM (10.6 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:46 AM – 8:31 AM |
| Sat | 87Excellent | 54°F | 19 mph SW | 2.1 ft | 12:04 AM (10.8 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:47 AM – 8:32 AM |
| Sun | 95Excellent | 54°F | 14 mph NW | 2.7 ft | 12:55 AM (11 ft) | Striped Bass | 5:48 AM – 8:33 AM |
Trends
Last 7 days
Water temperature
55°F → 53°F
Wind
14 mph → 7 mph
Swell
1.6 ft → 0.8 ft
Daily score
91 → 84
Water temperature has dropped 2°F this week. Expect fish to slide toward deeper channels and to bite best in the warmest part of the afternoon.
The water
About Cape Cod Bay
Cape Cod Bay is a shallow, cold bowl inside the hook of the Cape with a mean tide range near 10 ft, which means structure that fishes on the last of the ebb can be dry sand two hours later. Striped bass arrive in mid-May chasing sand eels and mackerel, hold through summer on Billingsgate Shoal and the Brewster flats, and stage for the fall run off Race Point in late September.
Local knowledge
Expert notes
- On the Brewster flats, the fish follow the drains, not the open sand. Stand on the edge of a drain on the first push of flood and let bass come to you.
- A 9.8 ft tide range means a two-hour window on most flats spots. Set a phone alarm for your walk-out time; people get cut off here every summer.
- The canal bite tracks the breaking tide, not the clock — the west end turns on roughly two hours before the east end.
Logistics
Access, ramps and launches
boat ramp
Barnstable Harbor ramp
Deep-water access with parking; can be a slow no-wake run at dead low.
shore
Brewster flats (Paines Creek)
Walk-out flats fishing on the incoming — know your exit time, the water comes back fast.
shore
Race Point Beach
Oversand permit required; classic fall-run surf casting.
marina
Sesuit Harbor Marina
Fuel, bait and charter fleet on the bay side.
Rules
Regulations
- Recreational saltwater fishing permit required for anglers 16 and older.
- Striped bass: one fish per angler per day inside the current slot limit; circle hooks required when fishing with bait.
- Black sea bass and fluke have separate seasons and minimum sizes that change annually.
Always verify current regulations with the relevant state wildlife agency before fishing. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
Transparency
Data sources
Where this data comes from
Conditions are modelled from each water's documented climate, structure and seasonal patterns. Modules marked “Live data integration pending” are not yet pulling from their API, so those values are clearly labelled as sample data rather than presented as real-time readings.
Weather API
PendingNOAA / National Weather Service — Air temperature, wind, cloud cover, rainfall and barometric pressure with a 7-day forecast.
Water Level & Flow API
PendingUSGS Water Services — Reservoir stage, discharge and 7-day level trend from the nearest gauge.
Water Temperature
PendingUSGS / NOAA buoys — Surface water temperature and its multi-day trend.
Tide & Current API
PendingNOAA CO-OPS — Tide predictions, current direction and speed for coastal zones.
Moon & Solunar
LiveComputed on-site — Moon phase, illumination and solunar major/minor periods are calculated from date and coordinates.
Water Clarity
PendingSatellite imagery + angler reports — Visibility estimates by lake arm, refined by submitted fishing reports.
Fishing Regulations
PendingState wildlife agencies — License, size and creel rules, linked to the official agency page for verification.
Map Data
PendingBathymetry + access point database — Depth zones, structure locations and boat ramps for the lake infographic.
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