UTERScup fishing in Rhode Island and Cape Cod
In Rhode Island and Cape Cod, scup peak June–September and are around May–October, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. August: Scup on every rock, pier and wreck — clam and squid.
No note for October — see the months around it.
Scup in Rhode Island and Cape Cod, month by month
- JanuaryNot here
- FebruaryNot here
- MarchNot here
- AprilNot here
- MayArrivingScup arrive in Narragansett and Buzzards Bay in May; the piers fill.
- JunePeakCanal blitzes and big stripers on mackerel. Pencil poppers at dawn in the Cape Cod Canal; tube-and-worm in Cape Cod Bay; eels at night off Block Island; fluke start on the sand.
- JulyPeakGiants in Cape Cod Bay; fluke, sea bass and bonito. Giant bluefin in Cape Cod Bay and off Chatham (trophy category closes early — check HMS); bucktail fluke off Block Island and the Vineyard; bonito off Watch Hill.
- AugustPeakScup on every rock, pier and wreck — clam and squid.
- SeptemberPeak
- OctoberLeaving
- NovemberNot here
- DecemberNot here
Where to fish scup near Point Judith, Newport, Block Island
Rhode Island's rocky south coast and salt ponds, Narragansett Bay, Block Island, Buzzards Bay and the Elizabeth Islands, Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds with their shoals and rips, the Cape Cod Canal, Cape Cod Bay's sand flats, and the Monomoy rips and outer Cape beaches; offshore Coxes Ledge and the southern New England canyons (Block, Atlantis, Veatch).
Fish Scouter charts 350 wreck, 4 artificial reef spots in the Southern New England map area — the kinds scup hold on.
What to use for scup
- SquidStrips on a bottom rig for snapper, grunts and porgies; whole on a deep-drop rig.
- BloodwormsA piece threaded on a #2 to 2/0 hook on a hi-lo or fish-finder rig — the striper, spot, croaker and white perch bait of the Chesapeake and the surf.
- Leader30–60 lb fluorocarbon
- Hook2/0–7/0
- Braid30–65 lb
Feeds in 50–78°F water, best at 58–72°F.
Questions anglers ask
When is the best time to catch scup in Rhode Island and Cape Cod?
Peak season is June–September. Scup are in Rhode Island and Cape Cod May–October. August: Scup on every rock, pier and wreck — clam and squid.
Where do scup hold in Rhode Island and Cape Cod?
Look on artificial reef, wreck, ledge / hard bottom, fishing pier, channel edge — around Point Judith, Newport, Block Island, Westport, Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard.
What is the best bait for scup in Rhode Island and Cape Cod?
Live bait: squid, bloodworms. Squid: Strips on a bottom rig for snapper, grunts and porgies; whole on a deep-drop rig. Tackle: leader 30–60 lb fluorocarbon, hook 2/0–7/0, braid 30–65 lb.
Fish it with the tide in your pocket
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All about scup · Southern New England, the whole year