Salem, Salem Harbor, MA Fishing Guide

Species at Salem, Salem Harbor

• Striped bass

  low-light ambush on moving water over structure

  Season: May–Jun, Sep–Nov · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 50–68°F

• Bluefish

  warm-water blitzer slashing bait on current

  Season: Jun–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 64–78°F

• Fluke (summer flounder)

  drift a moving dropping tide over sand for ambush

  Season: May–Sep · Tide: the outgoing tide · Light: bright daylight · Water: 58–75°F

• Tautog (blackfish)

  crab-crunching on rock structure, best on strong ebb

  Season: Apr–May, Oct–Dec · Tide: the outgoing tide · Light: bright daylight · Water: 48–60°F

• Black sea bass

  structure feeder, bite slows once water tops ~68F

  Season: May–Jul, Sep–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: bright daylight · Water: 55–68°F

• Scup (porgy)

  schools pile on structure once water passes ~45F

  Season: May–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: bright daylight · Water: 50–72°F

• False albacore (albie)

  speedsters crashing bait on moving water

  Season: Aug–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 60–72°F

• Winter flounder (blackback)

  warming back-bay water on the ebb wakes the bite

  Season: Mar–May · Tide: the outgoing tide · Light: bright daylight · Water: 45–58°F

• Weakfish (squeteague)

  after-dark hunter over channel edges on big-moon tides

  Season: May–Jun, Sep–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 55–70°F

• Atlantic mackerel

  cold-water schools pass inshore on spring/fall migration

  Season: May–Jun, Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 46–58°F

• Northern kingfish (sea mullet)

  warm-water bottom feeder rooting sand for crabs/worms

  Season: Jul–Sep · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 68–76°F

• Hickory shad

  schools stack in tidal rivers chasing small bait

  Season: Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 50–65°F

• Atlantic bonito

  fast pelagic crashing bait on clean moving water

  Season: Aug–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 62–72°F

What's biting at Salem, Salem Harbor, month by month

Typical seasons for this stretch of coast — a warm or late year shifts them by a few weeks. The live forecast scores today's actual conditions.

Coastal runs that pass Salem, Salem Harbor

These species travel the coast with the seasons, so they show up on a schedule rather than living here year-round.

• Striped bass

  the fall run south is the event of the year — the most reliable cascade signal in the NE

  Timing: northbound Mar–Jun · southbound Sep–Nov · Driven by: water temp (55–68°F); follows bunker & sand eels · Pace: ~50–100 mi/week along the surf; ~1,000 mi in 6–8 wks

• Bluefish

  blitzes alongside the stripers

  Timing: northbound Apr–Jun · southbound Sep–Nov · Driven by: temp + bunker/herring · Pace: fast, tracking the bait

• Bonito

  Atlantic bonito — erratic year to year; NC spring blitz + NE summer

  Timing: northbound Apr–Jun · southbound Sep–Oct · Driven by: sand eels, anchovies, butterfish · Pace: moderate; often just ahead of the albies

• False albacore

  false albacore — fall cascade Nantucket→Cape Cod→NJ→NC; the Cape Lookout run is famous

  Timing: southbound Aug–Nov · northbound Apr–May · Driven by: temp (75–86°F); bay anchovies, silversides · Pace: very fast — NC→Keys in ~23 days, ~50 mi/day

• Atlantic mackerel

  best inshore May–Jun & Sep–Oct in New England

  Timing: northbound Apr–Jun · southbound Sep–Nov · Driven by: temp + spawning; copepods/sand eels · Pace: school-driven, fast

• Bunker (menhaden) bait run

  bunker/pogies — the stripers & blues are right under them

  Timing: northbound Mar–Jun · southbound Sep–Nov · Driven by: temp + plankton blooms · Pace: huge schools shift the coast; the #1 trigger for the fall striper/blues blitz

How Salem, Salem Harbor fishes

Open water lies to the east of Salem, Salem Harbor. A wind out of the east is onshore here — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes stirred-up water inshore, while a west wind flattens the surface and tends to clean it up.

Tide is the clock: moving water pulls bait through the mouth, and the turns around slack are when most of the roster feeds hardest.

Tides here are read from NOAA station 8442645 at 42.5233, -70.8767 — see it on NOAA CO-OPS.

Shops & partners near Salem, Salem Harbor

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Common questions about Salem, Salem Harbor

What fish can you catch at Salem, Salem Harbor?

Striped bass, Bluefish, Fluke (summer flounder), Tautog (blackfish), Black sea bass, Scup (porgy), False albacore (albie), Winter flounder (blackback), Weakfish (squeteague), Atlantic mackerel, Northern kingfish (sea mullet), Hickory shad and 1 more. Each has its own season, preferred tide and water-temperature window at Salem, Salem Harbor.

When is the best time to fish Salem, Salem Harbor?

September and October have the most species in season (10 of 13) — Striped bass, Bluefish, Fluke (summer flounder), Black sea bass, Scup (porgy), False albacore (albie), Weakfish (squeteague), Northern kingfish (sea mullet). Seasons shift by a few weeks in a warm or late year.

Is there anything biting at Salem, Salem Harbor in winter?

January, February are the quiet stretch — none of the species we track are in their window then. The bite picks back up in March.

What tide is best for fishing Salem, Salem Harbor?

10 of the 13 species here feed best on moving water. Moving water is what pulls bait through the mouth, so the hours either side of a tide change usually beat dead slack.

Which wind is bad for Salem, Salem Harbor?

Open water lies to the east, so an east wind is onshore — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes dirty water inshore. A west wind flattens and cleans it up.

Do migrating fish run past Salem, Salem Harbor?

Yes — Striped bass (northbound Mar–Jun · southbound Sep–Nov); Bluefish (northbound Apr–Jun · southbound Sep–Nov); Bonito (northbound Apr–Jun · southbound Sep–Oct); False albacore (southbound Aug–Nov · northbound Apr–May); Atlantic mackerel (northbound Apr–Jun · southbound Sep–Nov); Bunker (menhaden) (northbound Mar–Jun · southbound Sep–Nov). These travel the coast with the seasons rather than living here year-round.

Where are the tides for Salem, Salem Harbor measured?

NOAA CO-OPS station 8442645, at 42.5233, -70.8767. What Inlet? scores the live tide, current, solunar and weather for that station.

Inlets near Salem, Salem Harbor

• Beverly, Beverly Harbor 1 mi
• Lynn, Lynn Harbor 6 mi
• Gloucester Harbor 13 mi
• Annisquam, Lobster Cove 14 mi
• Plum Island Sound (south end) 14 mi
• Charlestown, Charles River entrance 14 mi
• Nut Island, Quincy Bay 17 mi
• Crow Point, Hingham Harbor entrance 18 mi

Fishing a different inlet today? Every one has its own species roster and bite pattern.

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