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139,586-acre Buzzards Bay fishing map with NOAA BlueTopo survey contours (76.44% measured, 99.22% assessed), charted rock and wreck structure, regional fish-survey occurrence, sourced forage timing and verified public access. The water tops out around 146 ft. The depth chart is built from real agency bathymetry referenced to NAVD88; directly measured coverage remains distinguished from source interpolation. The channels, holes and drop-offs come from the source data, not a distance-from-shore model. The season-by-season read for each species follows, from the map's own numbers.
Traced from the shoreline, Buzzards Bay runs 139,287 acres with 201.3 miles of edge, with 49 islands in the mix. That shoreline is heavily fingered (development index 3.8) — bays, points and pockets everywhere, which multiplies the fishable edge. Littoral water — the productive band under ~15 ft — makes up 13% of this chart. Tip to tip the water measures near 28.5 mi with a 13.1-mi widest point. The nearest mapped water is Nasketucket Bay, 3 mi to the northwest.
When the water first warms, striped bass slide up into 5 to 20 ft. Summer is a 25 to 60 ft game here, winter a 20 to 50 ft one. Start at Surveyed channel edge. It's a drop-off holding about 69 ft of water and rates good come summer. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. Keep a topwater walker at low light or a paddletail on a light jig rigged through the warm months.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | open water | 3-5 inch baitfish swimbait, Suspending minnow plug |
| Summer | 25 to 60 ft | dawn & dusk | Surveyed channel edge (69 ft) | Topwater walker at low light, Paddletail on a light jig |
| Fall | 10 to 35 ft | dawn & dusk | open water | Baitfish swimbait, Metal jig |
| Winter | 20 to 50 ft | midday | open water | Slow paddletail, Bucktail near bottom |
Start shallow in spring: bluefish sit in 3 to 20 ft that time of year. Summer pushes them deeper, 5 to 30 ft, and winter fish settle into 15 to 40 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around early morning and the evening. Throw a popper (early/late) or a metal jigs in the rips until the fish tell you otherwise.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | open water | Metal (Hopkins/Kastmaster), Pencil popper |
| Summer | 5 to 30 ft | dawn & dusk | open water | Popper (early/late), Metal jigs in the rips |
| Fall | 3 to 25 ft | dawn & midday | open water | Pencil popper, Big metal |
| Winter | 15 to 40 ft | midday | open water | Metal jig worked slow (southern waters) |
When the water first warms, summer flounder (fluke) slide up into 5 to 25 ft. By summer they slide out to 8 to 35 ft, and by winter most fish are in 20 to 60 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Feeding flat: a feeding flat around 39 ft that scores good in summer. In summer the feeding windows fall in midday and early morning. Keep a bucktail (1-3 oz by drift speed) or a gulp grub on jighead rigged through the warm months.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | open water | Bucktail + Gulp swimming mullet, Hi-lo rig + squid strip |
| Summer | 8 to 35 ft | midday & dawn | Feeding flat (39 ft) | Bucktail (1-3 oz by drift speed), Gulp grub on jighead |
| Fall | 12 to 45 ft | midday | Feeding flat (39 ft) | Heavier bucktail on the lumps, Big Gulp 6" grub |
| Winter | 20 to 60 ft | midday | open water | Slow bottom rig + strip |
When the water first warms, black sea bass slide up into 10 to 40 ft. Summer is a 15 to 60 ft game here, winter a 40 to 100 ft one. Start at NOAA charted underwater rock. It's a rock pile holding about 10 ft of water and rates prime come spring. The feeding windows run midday and early morning. Keep a bucktail + grub or a diamond jig + squid teaser rigged through the warm months.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 10 to 40 ft | midday & dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (10 ft) | Hi-lo rig + squid, 1-2 oz bucktail + Gulp |
| Summer | 15 to 60 ft | midday & dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (23 ft) | Bucktail + grub, Diamond jig + squid teaser |
| Fall | 20 to 80 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (23 ft) | 3-4 oz vertical jig (deep), Double-teaser rig |
| Winter | 40 to 100 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (42 ft) | Heavy hi-lo rig on deep wrecks |
Spring puts tautog (blackfish) in skinny water — 5 to 25 ft is the zone. Warm water sends them out to 10 to 35 ft; cold water stacks them in 30 to 70 ft. Dangerous NOAA charted wreck is the standout, a wreck at roughly 11 ft, rated prime for spring tautog (blackfish). Plan around early morning in the warm months. A 1/2-1 oz tog jig + crab covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | Dangerous NOAA charted wreck (11 ft) | Tog jig + green crab half, Bare jig + clam (early) |
| Summer | 10 to 35 ft | dawn | Dangerous NOAA charted wreck (11 ft) | 1/2-1 oz tog jig + crab |
| Fall | 10 to 50 ft | midday | Dangerous NOAA charted wreck (45 ft) | Tog jig + whole green crab, Old-school rig + double crab (deep) |
| Winter | 30 to 70 ft | midday | Dangerous NOAA charted wreck (45 ft) | Heavy jig + crab on deep structure |
Come spring, look for scup (porgy) tight to the bank in 5 to 25 ft. They move out to 6 to 35 ft in summer and finish the year down in 12 to 50 ft. If you only fish one area, make it NOAA charted underwater rock: a rock pile around 6 ft that scores prime in spring. Best bite is midday and early morning. A hi-lo porgy rig or a micro metal jig is the honest summer answer here.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 25 ft | dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Small hi-lo rig, Micro jig tipped with bait |
| Summer | 6 to 35 ft | midday & dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Hi-lo porgy rig, Micro metal jig |
| Fall | 8 to 40 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (8 ft) | Compact vertical jig, Hi-lo rig |
| Winter | 12 to 50 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (13 ft) | Small slow vertical jig |
Buzzards Bay also holds winter flounder (8 to 30 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
465 pieces of structure are mapped here — NOAA charted wreck, around 116 ft, is the deepest of them.
Access data: Massachusetts public water-access inventory. Confirm conditions and fees locally before you launch.
Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Massachusetts waters are set by the Massachusetts DMF (recreational saltwater) — and special regulations can apply to Buzzards Bay specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Massachusetts fishing regulations →
Buzzards Bay is about 146 ft (45 m) deep at its deepest point. The depth chart is built from real agency bathymetry referenced to NAVD88; directly measured coverage remains distinguished from source interpolation. The contours reflect measured and quality-assessed source depths.
Anglers target striped bass, bluefish, summer flounder (fluke), black sea bass, tautog (blackfish), scup (porgy), winter flounder on Buzzards Bay. The list combines the water's survey records with habitat-filtered species from broader official evidence; those additions are plausible occurrences, not exact-water abundance or guaranteed catches.
NOAA charted underwater rock is the top-rated area: a rock pile in about 10 ft of water that rates prime for black sea bass in spring. Every other rated spot, per species and season, is on the map above.
For striped bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Fishing on Buzzards Bay is regulated by the Massachusetts DMF (recreational saltwater). Check the official Massachusetts regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.
Nasketucket Bay 3 mi, MA · Clarks Cove 5 mi, MA · Acushnet River 7 mi, MA · Aucoot Cove 8 mi, MA · Woods Hole Passage 9 mi, MA · Quissett Harbor 9 mi, MA · Sippican Harbor 9 mi, MA · Cuttyhunk Harbor 11 mi, MA · Marys Pond 12 mi, MA · Pocasset Harbor 12 mi, MA · Long Pond (Rochester) 13 mi, MA · Coonamessett Pond 14 mi, MA
See how Buzzards Bay stacks up: best striped bass lakes in Massachusetts · best summer flounder (fluke) lakes in Massachusetts · best winter flounder lakes in Massachusetts · best bluefish lakes in Massachusetts
Browse all Massachusetts fishing maps. See every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: NOAA BlueTopo (NAVD88; 76% measured, 23% source-interpolated). How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.