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1,040-acre Pleasant Bay fishing map with NOAA BlueTopo survey contours (69.78% measured, 100% assessed), charted rock and wreck structure, regional fish-survey occurrence, sourced forage timing and verified public access. The water tops out around 24 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. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.
Pleasant Bay maps at 1,039 acres behind 6.7 miles of shoreline. With a 1.5 development index there's bank structure worth casting at, in moderation. Littoral water — the productive band under ~15 ft — makes up 69% of this chart. Tip to tip the water measures near 2.1 mi with a 1.3-mi widest point. Stillwater Pond sits 2 mi south — the closest neighbouring chart.
The spring pattern is a shallow one: striped bass in 5 to 20 ft. As the season builds they drop to 7 to 24 ft, wintering in 7 to 24 ft. Top water on the chart: Surveyed channel edge, a drop-off in the 10 ft range, good in summer. Time it for early morning and the evening. Summer baits: a topwater walker at low light or a paddletail on a light jig gets it done.
Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | 3-6 inch paddletail, Suspending minnow plug |
| Summer | 7 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 25 to 60 ft | dawn & dusk | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Topwater walker at low light, Paddletail on a light jig |
| Fall | 7 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 10 to 35 ft | dawn & dusk | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Pencil popper, Baitfish swimbait |
| Winter | 7 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 20 to 50 ft | midday | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Slow paddletail, Bucktail near bottom |
Spring bluefish on Pleasant Bay hold shallow, usually 3 to 20 ft. By summer they slide out to 4 to 24 ft, and by winter most fish are in 7 to 24 ft. The chart's best answer is Surveyed channel edge — drop-off, 10 ft, good for summer. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a popper (early/late) or a metal jigs in the rips.
Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Metal (Hopkins/Kastmaster), Pencil popper |
| Summer | 4 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 5 to 30 ft | dawn & dusk | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Popper (early/late), Metal jigs in the rips |
| Fall | 3 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 3 to 25 ft | dawn & midday | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Pencil popper, Big metal |
| Winter | 7 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 15 to 40 ft | midday | open water | Metal jig worked slow (southern waters) |
In spring, summer flounder (fluke) run shallow here, mostly 5 to 24 ft. Summer keeps them at 5 to 24 ft, and they winter in 7 to 24 ft. Surveyed channel edge is the standout, a drop-off at roughly 10 ft, rated prime for summer summer flounder (fluke). Time it for midday and early morning. You won't need more than a bucktail (1-3 oz by drift speed) or a gulp grub on jighead most summer days.
Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 5 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Bucktail + Gulp swimming mullet, Hi-lo rig + squid strip |
| Summer | 5 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 8 to 35 ft | midday & dawn | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Bucktail (1-3 oz by drift speed), Gulp grub on jighead |
| Fall | 6 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 12 to 45 ft | midday | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Heavier bucktail on the lumps, Big Gulp 6" grub |
| Winter | 7 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 20 to 60 ft | midday | Surveyed channel edge (10 ft) | Slow bottom rig + strip |
The spring pattern is a shallow one: black sea bass in 6 to 24 ft. The depth story barely changes: 6 to 24 ft through summer, 7 to 24 ft in winter. Top water on the chart: NOAA charted underwater rock, a rock pile in the 6 ft range, prime in spring. Time it for midday and early morning. Summer baits: a bucktail + grub or a diamond jig + squid teaser gets it done.
Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 6 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 10 to 40 ft | midday & dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Hi-lo rig + squid, 1-2 oz bucktail + Gulp |
| Summer | 6 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 15 to 60 ft | midday & dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Bucktail + grub, Diamond jig + squid teaser |
| Fall | 6 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 20 to 80 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | 3-4 oz vertical jig (deep), Double-teaser rig |
| Winter | 7 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 40 to 100 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Heavy hi-lo rig on deep wrecks |
Come spring, look for tautog (blackfish) tight to the bank in 5 to 24 ft. Through summer count on 7 to 24 ft; the winter hold is 7 to 24 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 early morning. A 1/2-1 oz tog jig + crab is the honest summer answer here.
Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 5 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Tog jig + green crab half, Bare jig + clam (early) |
| Summer | 7 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 10 to 35 ft | dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | 1/2-1 oz tog jig + crab |
| Fall | 5 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 10 to 50 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Tog jig + whole green crab, Old-school rig + double crab (deep) |
| Winter | 7 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 30 to 70 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Heavy jig + crab on deep structure |
Start shallow in spring: scup (porgy) sit in 5 to 24 ft that time of year. They don't go far with the seasons — 4 to 24 ft covers summer, 6 to 24 ft covers winter. The spot to know is NOAA charted underwater rock, a rock pile in about 6 ft of water that rates prime for scup (porgy) in spring. Warm-month bites cluster around midday and early morning. Throw a hi-lo porgy rig or a micro metal jig until the fish tell you otherwise.
Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 5 to 25 ft | dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Small hi-lo rig, Micro jig tipped with bait |
| Summer | 4 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 6 to 35 ft | midday & dawn | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Hi-lo porgy rig, Micro metal jig |
| Fall | 5 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 8 to 40 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Compact vertical jig, Hi-lo rig |
| Winter | 6 to 24 ft chart-limited; documented 12 to 50 ft | midday | NOAA charted underwater rock (6 ft) | Small slow vertical jig |
Pleasant Bay also holds winter flounder (6 to 24 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
12 pieces of structure are mapped here — Surveyed channel edge, around 10 ft, is the deepest of them.
Access data: Town of Chatham — public landing and boat-launch facility. 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 Pleasant Bay specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Massachusetts fishing regulations →
Pleasant Bay is about 24 ft (7 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 Pleasant 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 6 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 Pleasant 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.
Stillwater Pond 2 mi · Little Pleasant Bay 2 mi · Little Cliff Pond 3 mi · Cliff Pond 3 mi · Mill Pond 3 mi · Chatham Harbor 4 mi · Long Pond (Harwich) 4 mi · Stage Harbor 4 mi · Sheep Pond 5 mi · Hinckleys Pond 6 mi · Upper Millpond 7 mi · Walkers Pond 8 mi
See how Pleasant 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; 70% measured, 30% 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.