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Plum Island Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Merrimack's mouth and eleven miles of refuge beach: North Shore surf casting where river herring, big tides and June bass collide.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 12:19 AM
Air / High
77 / 82 F
Wind
ESE 6 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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 sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1008 hPa and a high of 82. Tides: high 5:25 AM and 5:46 PM, low 11:28 AM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 72 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

BluefishExcellent

Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

Striped bassGood

Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 69 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

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

Fri
HIGH5:25 AM7.5 ft
LOW11:28 AM0.9 ft
HIGH5:46 PM8.8 ft
Sat
LOW12:19 AM0.2 ft
HIGH6:28 AM7.3 ft
LOW12:30 PM1.0 ft
HIGH6:50 PM8.8 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp77 F
High / Low82 / 64 F
WindESE 6-12 mph
Pressure1007.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain18% cloud, 10%
Sunrise / Sunset06:11 / 19:13
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~72 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 82/64 F, wind 10 mph, rain 10%

Fair or better. A 10 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

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

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Best: Sep-Oct blitzes

The ocean's most honest fish: when blues blitz bait on the beach, everything with hooks gets bit. Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

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 72 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~72 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, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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

MA Saltwater Permit. Striped bass slot 28-31 inches (verify current year). Refuge beach sections close April-August for nesting plovers: check daily status.

Access

Plum Island Point and jetty (street parking), Parker River NWR lots 1-7 (entrance fee), Joppa Flats launches in Newburyport.

About this water

Barrier island at the Merrimack River mouth, Essex County, MA. Newburyport's surf-casting front porch.

Fishing Plum Island: the full guide

The river mouth

Plum Island guards the Merrimack River's entrance, and the jetties framing it fish like a miniature canal: stripers stack in the river's dumping tide (May-June is prime, as herring and shad pull the migration in), bluefish raid in midsummer, and the fall run funnels past the north jetty within casting range. The mouth's bars shift and the current runs hard: it is the North Shore's most serious surf station.

Refuge beach

South of the developed end, the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge runs miles of undriven, walk-on beach (sections close for plovers in early summer: check status). The open stretches serve classic sloughs-and-bars reading: bass on chunks and metal-lipped swimmers after dark, the odd daytime blitz when sand eels ball up. Solitude is the amenity: pack light and walk.

Joppa Flats and the estuary

Inside the mouth, Joppa Flats' shallow expanse warms early: light-tackle and fly anglers drift it for the season's first keepable bass in May, sight-casting at fish pushing wakes over inches of water. The Parker and Plum Island rivers behind add marsh structure, summer schoolies, and protected water whenever the ocean face blows out.

A North Shore year

May: herring in, bass behind, Joppa waking first. June: the peak: big fish in the river mouth on live baits and big plugs. Summer: blues, dawn schoolies, tuna rumors offshore. September-October: the fall push along the refuge beaches, birds marking the way south. Then the long, honest winter of tying leaders.

Common questions

When is the best striper fishing at Plum Island?

Late May through June at the river mouth, on the last of the ebb and first of the flood: herring-fed migrants in heavy current. The fall run (September-October) replays it southbound along the refuge.

Is the refuge beach open for fishing?

Outside plover season, yes: walk-on access from the numbered lots. From roughly April to mid-August, sections close for nesting: the point and jetty end stay open year-round.

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 miStillwater River58 miLake Winnipesaukee60 miSebago Lake73 mi
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