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Plum Island Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Plum Island and the Parker River refuge at the Merrimack's mouth, whose surf fishing the Fish and Wildlife Service ranks among the area's finest.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
High 10:15 PM
Air / High
53 / 55 F
Wind
E 6 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8440452, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Plum Island rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 55. Tides: high 9:53 AM and 10:15 PM, low 3:43 AM and 4:07 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 64 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:16 AM-11:16 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

BluefishExcellent

Fall turns the migration south toward the South Atlantic Bight, and fish feed along beaches and inlets on the way. Follow the bait and the birds.

Tomorrow: Similar at 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8440452 (Plum Island, Merrimack Entrance). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW3:43 AM0.8 ft
HIGH9:53 AM8.0 ft
LOW4:07 PM0.6 ft
HIGH10:15 PM8.0 ft
Sat
LOW4:25 AM0.6 ft
HIGH10:35 AM8.5 ft
LOW4:52 PM0.1 ft
HIGH11:00 PM8.2 ft

Newburyport tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp53 F
High / Low55 / 37 F
WindE 6-13 mph
Pressure1027.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:06 / 17:48
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~64 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Plum Island this week

The best day on Plum Island this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:16 AM-11:16 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM
Minor period
3:38 AM-4:38 AM
Sun
07:06 to 17:48
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 12 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Plum Island: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Peak harvest: May-Oct, most in Jul-Aug (NOAA)

Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) are sharp-toothed schooling predators that move up and down the Atlantic coast with the seasons and feed in surface blitzes on menhaden, silversides and squid. Fall turns the migration south toward the South Atlantic Bight, and fish feed along beaches and inlets on the way. Follow the bait and the birds.

When to come: the Plum Island calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
Bluefish
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 64 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~64 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Plum Island today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 16 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 63 F, wind to 14 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Massachusetts requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Massachusetts recreational saltwater fishing permit. Striped bass: 1 a day, 28 inches to less than 31 inches, inline circle hooks with natural bait, no gaffing (DMF, verified today). The refuge requires its own night-fishing permit.

Access

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge beach lots; Lot 1 has the fee station, and Lots 1, 3 and 7 have boardwalk beach overlooks. Most refuge beach closes April 1 into August for plovers.

About this water

Barrier island at the mouth of the Merrimack River, Essex County, Massachusetts. NOAA tide predictions: Plum Island, Merrimack River Entrance, station 8440452.

Fishing Plum Island: the full guide

Refuge surf fishing

The Fish and Wildlife Service says Parker River National Wildlife Refuge offers some of the area's finest surf fishing, with striped bass, bluefish and flounder in season. Fishing is allowed in daylight all year with a valid state license. Night fishing opens as piping plovers fledge: as of summer 2025 it ran from August 15 to October 31 and required a refuge night-fishing permit, sold at the gatehouse or the fee station at Lot 1.

Plover closures and crowds

Most refuge beaches close from April 1 into August to protect nesting piping plovers, a federally threatened species, and reopen in stages as the chicks fledge. The refuge also closes to vehicles when it reaches capacity in summer; FWS suggests weekdays, or weekends before 10 a.m. or after 3 p.m.

Striped bass rules

Massachusetts allows one striped bass a day measuring 28 inches to less than 31 inches, all year. Anglers using whole or cut natural bait for stripers must use inline circle hooks, gaffs are prohibited, and fish may not be culled or held alive on a stringer.

Common questions

Is the refuge beach open for fishing in summer?

Mostly not before August: FWS closes most refuge beaches from April 1 into August for nesting plovers and reopens them as the chicks fledge.

Can I fish the refuge at night?

Only in the night-fishing season, which FWS gave as August 15 to October 31 as of summer 2025, and only with a refuge night-fishing permit.

What is the striped bass limit in Massachusetts?

One fish a day from 28 inches to less than 31 inches.

Is fishing good at Plum Island right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Hampton6 miGreat Bay18 miMerrimack River27 miCharles River37 miMerrymeeting Lake50 miWachusett Reservoir55 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8440452 β€” Plum Island, Merrimack Entrance
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 42.8150, -70.8190 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.