Inshore — Sound, estuaries, surf

Nearshore — Rips, reefs, bays to 20 mi

Offshore — Stellwagen, canyons, Georges Bank

Inshore

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  Striped Bass — The marquee fish, best May through October - work swimming plugs, bucktails and soft plastics in the rips, or live-line eels and bunker at night.GearSwimming plugsSoft-plastic baitsSurf casting rod

  How to ID

  • 7-8 sharp, unbroken dark horizontal stripes the length of silver sides
  • two clearly separated dorsal fins (spiny + soft)
  • stout, elongated silvery body, white belly, olive-to-blue back
  • two distinct tooth patches on the back of the tongue
  • stripes straight and continuous (not broken or wavy)

  Tell it apart: Continuous, well-defined horizontal stripes running the full length, two fully separated dorsal fins, and twin tongue tooth-patches separate it from weakfish, which is spotted (not striped) and has fang teeth.

  Easily confused with: Weakfish

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  Bluefish — Strong June through October - cast poppers and metal into surface blitzes or troll spoons, always with a short wire or heavy bite leader.GearSurface poppersDiamond jigsWire leader rigs

  How to ID

  • blue-green back fading to silver sides
  • large mouth with a single row of sharp, prominent triangular teeth
  • dark blotch at base of pectoral fin
  • broad, moderately forked tail
  • projecting lower jaw, soft fleshy first dorsal that folds into a groove

  Tell it apart: The mouthful of obvious razor-sharp triangular teeth plus a soft body and lack of finlets is unmistakable; the tuna-like false albacore and bonito have rigid tuna bodies, finlets, and small or no visible teeth.

  Easily confused with: False Albacore, Bonito / Atlantic

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  Tautog (Blackfish) — Peaks April-May and again October-November - anchor over wrecks and rockpiles and drop green crab on a tog jig or rig tight to structure.GearTog jigsBlackfish rigsConventional jigging rod

  How to ID

  • stocky, blunt-headed dark gray-to-black body
  • thick rubbery lips
  • white chin/throat patch on larger fish
  • mottled, blotchy sides with no distinct stripes or spots
  • few stout conical canine teeth at front of jaw plus crushing pharyngeal teeth

  Tell it apart: The blunt rubbery-lipped head with a white chin patch and a single low, continuous dorsal separate it from black sea bass, which has a notched dorsal, pale spotting/lines, and a trailing top-tail filament.

  Easily confused with: Black Sea Bass

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  Scup / Porgy — Peaks June-September - anchor over rocky and mussel bottom, fishing small hooks baited with clam or squid on a two-hook bottom rig.GearPorgy hooksTwo-hook bottom rigsBank sinkers

  How to ID

  • deep, strongly compressed oval silvery body
  • fine faint vertical bars or dusky mottling
  • small mouth with incisor-like front teeth and a row of molars
  • single long dorsal fin with stiff sharp spines
  • forked silvery tail

  Tell it apart: A compressed, near-round silvery disk-shaped body with a tiny incisor-toothed mouth marks the scup; black sea bass is darker, more elongated, with a heavier head and a tail filament.

  Easily confused with: Black Sea Bass

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  Black Sea Bass — Best May through October - drop squid and clam on a high-low rig over wrecks, or jig with a teaser dropper once water warms.GearDiamond jigsHigh-low rigsBottom fishing rod

  How to ID

  • stout dark gray-to-blue-black body
  • pale spots/lines forming a mottled pattern on the sides and dorsal fin
  • single long continuous dorsal fin (notched, not split)
  • rounded tail, often with a trailing top-ray streamer/filament
  • fleshy nape hump on big males (blue 'humpback')

  Tell it apart: The trailing filament off the top of the tail (plus blue nape hump on males) separates it from tautog (no filament, rubbery lips, white chin) and from the deep-bodied silvery porgy.

  Easily confused with: Tautog (Blackfish), Scup / Porgy

• 
  Weakfish — A short window, best May-July in back bays and channels - work soft-plastic shads slowly or drift bloodworm rigs at dawn and dusk.GearSoft-plastic shadLead jigheadsBloodworm rigs

  How to ID

  • iridescent purple-green back with golden-bronze sheen
  • dark spots scattered in oblique rows on upper sides (no horizontal stripes)
  • yellow-tinged fins, especially anal and pelvic
  • two prominent canine 'fang' teeth at tip of upper jaw
  • soft, easily-torn mouth tissue, no chin barbels

  Tell it apart: The pair of large canine fang teeth at the front of the mouth, spots arranged in oblique rows (not horizontal stripes), and yellow fins separate weakfish from striped bass.

  Easily confused with: Striped Bass

Nearshore

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  False Albacore — The prized fall run, September-October - cast and fast-retrieve epoxy jigs and small metals to busting fish on light fluorocarbon leader.GearEpoxy jigsSmall metal luresFluorocarbon leader

  How to ID

  • wavy, worm-like dark green-blue scribbles on the upper back only
  • 3-7 dark round spots below and behind the pectoral fin
  • lower sides and belly silvery and unmarked (no stripes)
  • rigid tuna body with finlets before the tail; lacks scaly corselet markings of bonito
  • small, inconspicuous teeth; deeply forked tail

  Tell it apart: Worm-like scribbles confined to the back plus a few dark belly spots and a smooth UNMARKED lower body separate the albie from bonito, which carries straight slanted dark stripes onto its sides and has visible teeth.

  Easily confused with: Bonito / Atlantic, Bluefish

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  Bonito / Atlantic — Best July-August - cast small epoxy jigs and slim metals to schooling fish on light spinning gear with a fluorocarbon leader.GearEpoxy jigsSlim casting metalsLight spinning combo

  How to ID

  • straight, slanting dark oblique stripes along the back, angling down onto the upper sides
  • stripes are linear and well-defined (not wavy scribbles)
  • small but visible conical teeth in the jaws
  • compact tuna-shaped body with finlets and a slim keeled tail base
  • metallic blue back, bright silver sides

  Tell it apart: Straight slanted dark stripes on the back plus small visible teeth distinguish bonito from the toothless, scribble-backed, belly-spotted false albacore; bonito is striped where Spanish mackerel is spotted.

  Easily confused with: False Albacore, Spanish Mackerel

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  Spanish Mackerel — Best July-August - troll or cast small fast Clark spoons and metal jigs through diving birds on light wire or long fluoro leader.GearClark spoonsCasting metal jigsFluorocarbon leader

  How to ID

  • rows of round-to-oval yellow/bronze spots on silver sides
  • prominent black blotch on the front lobe of the first dorsal fin
  • pectoral fins lack scales (bare); slender, elongate body
  • small finlets behind dorsal and anal fins
  • lateral line sloping gently and evenly (no abrupt dip under 2nd dorsal)

  Tell it apart: Gold-yellow spots scattered on the flanks plus the black patch on the front of the first dorsal are diagnostic; bonito and tunas show stripes or are unmarked, never round yellow spots.

  Easily confused with: Bonito / Atlantic

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  Summer Flounder — Peaks June-September - drift sandy channels and inlets bouncing a bucktail tipped with Gulp or a squid-and-minnow rig along the bottom.GearBucktail jigsGulp swimming mulletFlounder rigs

  How to ID

  • eyes on the LEFT side when the dark side is up
  • 5 or more distinct ocellated (eye-like) spots on the body
  • large mouth extending well past the eye, with prominent sharp teeth
  • thin, broad oval flat body
  • can rapidly change brown mottling to match the bottom

  Tell it apart: Left-eyed with a big toothy mouth reaching past the eye and ocellated eye-spots = summer flounder (fluke); winter flounder is right-eyed, spotless, with a tiny mouth.

  Easily confused with: Winter Flounder

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  Winter Flounder — Best in the cold months, March-April - anchor over soft mud or sand and fish small hooks with bloodworm or clam on a spreader rig.GearWinter flounder hooksSpreader rigsLight bottom rod

  How to ID

  • eyes on the RIGHT side when the dark side is up
  • small mouth, lips barely reaching the front of the eye
  • smooth reddish-to-dark brown upper side with no ocellated spots
  • white blind side, often with a rosy tinge
  • rounded, almost diamond body outline

  Tell it apart: Right-eyed with a tiny puckered mouth and no eye-spots separates winter flounder ('blackback') from the left-eyed, big-mouthed, spotted fluke.

  Easily confused with: Summer Flounder

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  Pollock — Best April-May in the cooler season - jig diamond jigs and rubber-tail teasers over deep wrecks and ledges, or drift clam baits.GearDiamond jigsTube teasersJigging rod

  How to ID

  • olive-green to brownish back, silvery sides
  • three dorsal fins and two anal fins
  • pale, only slightly curved lateral line
  • projecting lower jaw with a tiny or absent chin barbel
  • distinctly forked tail (unlike cod's and haddock's squared tail)

  Tell it apart: A greenish back, jutting lower jaw, near-absent chin barbel, and a clearly forked tail separate pollock from the barbeled, square-tailed cod and haddock.

  Easily confused with: Atlantic Cod, Haddock

Offshore

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  Bluefin Tuna — Best August-October - troll spreader bars and chunk butterfish on inshore lumps; jig sand eel imitations when fish hold tight to bait.GearSpreader barsJigging luresStand-up tuna combo

  How to ID

  • deep, robust torpedo body, dark metallic blue-black back
  • very short pectoral fins (do not reach the second dorsal fin)
  • finlets yellow edged with black toward the tail
  • silvery lower sides without a bold yellow stripe
  • second dorsal and anal fins short (not elongated sickles)

  Tell it apart: Short pectoral fins reaching only to mid-body, short second-dorsal/anal fins, and a deep stocky body distinguish bluefin from the long-finned, yellow-striped yellowfin.

  Easily confused with: Yellowfin Tuna

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  Yellowfin Tuna — Best August-October at the canyons - troll spreader bars and ballyhoo by day, then chunk butterfish on the anchor through the night.GearSpreader barsBallyhoo rigsOffshore trolling combo

  How to ID

  • bright yellow finlets and a bright yellow lateral stripe down the flank
  • long, sickle-shaped second dorsal and anal fins on adults
  • long pectoral fins reaching past the start of the second dorsal
  • dark blue-black back, silver belly with broken vertical lines/dots
  • metallic gold band along the side

  Tell it apart: Long pectoral fins, elongated yellow sickle-shaped second dorsal/anal fins, and the bold yellow side-stripe separate yellowfin from the short-finned, short-finletted, stockier bluefin.

  Easily confused with: Bluefin Tuna

• 
  Mahi (Dolphin) — Best July-August - troll skirted ballyhoo near lobster pot lines and weedlines, then pitch bucktails or cut bait to the schools.GearSkirted trolling luresBallyhoo rigsCasting bucktails

  How to ID

  • brilliant blue-green-gold body with scattered small dark spots
  • blunt, vertical forehead, very steep and high on males (bulls)
  • single long dorsal fin running from nape nearly to the tail
  • deeply forked tail, slender tapering body
  • colors flash and fade rapidly out of the water

  Tell it apart: The neon green-gold color, single dorsal running the whole back, and blunt forehead are unmistakable, with no Northeast look-alike on this list.

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  Haddock — Best April-May on offshore banks - drop clam baits on a high-low rig over gravel and sand bottom, with a teaser jig above.GearHaddock rigsJig-and-teaser combosBottom fishing rod

  How to ID

  • dark gray back, silver sides, dark (black) lateral line
  • prominent black 'thumbprint' blotch above the pectoral fin
  • three dorsal fins, the first tall and pointed
  • small chin barbel present
  • slightly forked-to-square tail; no overhang/spotting like cod

  Tell it apart: The dark lateral line plus the black 'devil's thumbprint' over the pectoral fin instantly separate haddock from cod (pale/white lateral line, overhanging upper jaw) and from green forked-tailed pollock.

  Easily confused with: Atlantic Cod, Pollock

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  Atlantic Cod — Best in the cold months, October-April - drift wrecks and ledges with clam-baited rigs or work heavy diamond jigs near the bottom.GearCod diamond jigsClam-bait rigsConventional jigging rod

  How to ID

  • heavy body, color variable (greenish to reddish-brown) with many small spots
  • pale, gently curved (arched) white lateral line
  • prominent single chin barbel
  • three dorsal fins and two anal fins
  • squared-off tail; upper jaw overhangs the lower

  Tell it apart: A pale curved white lateral line plus a clear chin barbel and overhanging upper jaw separate cod from the dark-lined, thumbprint-marked haddock and the jutting-jawed, forked-tailed pollock.

  Easily confused with: Haddock, Pollock

• 
  Shark (mako/thresher) — Best July-September - set a steady chum slick offshore and drift oily mackerel or bluefish baits on cable leaders at staggered depths.GearHeavy circle hooksCable leader rigsStand-up shark combo

  How to ID

  • mako: deep indigo-blue back, sharply pointed snout, long curved dagger-like teeth visible even when mouth is closed
  • mako: nearly symmetrical crescent (lunate) tail with a strong caudal keel
  • thresher: enormously long, scythe-like upper tail lobe, nearly as long as the body
  • thresher: small mouth, short snout, smooth gray-brown back, small teeth
  • both have 5 gill slits and a stout, fast torpedo-shaped body

  Tell it apart: A tail lobe nearly as long as the body = thresher; a stocky blue body with exposed needle-like teeth and an even crescent tail = mako.