Best Fishing Times in Massachusetts This Week
Near Gloucester, Chatham and Worcester: today on a 24 hour timeline and the next seven days rated Fair to Best.
Working out the moon and the sun for Gloucester, MA, and reading the forecast.
Fishing somewhere else? Enter any ZIP for your own spot
Photo: “Fall fishing on the Madison River at sunrise”, Jacob W. Frank, Yellowstone National Park (NPS), Public domain
Massachusetts at a glance
Solunar windows plus the agency calendarWhen fish bite in Massachusetts
Massachusetts fishing turns on spring and fall trout stocking, striped bass along the coast from May to November, bass feeding hard as water cools in fall, and winter ice fishing.
Each entry below is from Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) or its published guides, quoted word for word and linked. Line the season up with the week above: a run in its prime and a Great day with a window at first light is the morning to take off.
- Spring and fall
Trout
Every listed trout water is stocked in spring, and the waters shown in bold are stocked again in fall.
“All locations are stocked in the spring, waters in bold are stocked in both spring and fall.”
Massachusetts trout stocked waters list, MassWildlife, read October 9, 2026 - May to November
Striped bass
Striped bass are found in Massachusetts from May to November.
“This species is found in Massachusetts from May to November.”
Learn about striped bass, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, read October 9, 2026 - Fall
Bass
Bass feed heavily as water temperatures drop from the 70s into the 50s, which makes fall a strong time to catch a big one.
“Bass feed heavily as the water temperatures drop from the 70s down to the 50s, and the fall is a phenomenal opportunity to catch the "fish of a lifetime".”
Fall fishing in Massachusetts, MassWildlife, read October 9, 2026 - Winter
Ice fishing (pickerel, perch, crappie, bass, trout)
In winter, the deeper parts of a pond are the warmest, and that is typically where fish spend their time.
“During winter, the deeper parts of a pond are the warmest, and these are typically where fish spend their time.”
Get started ice fishing, MassWildlife, read October 9, 2026
License, stocking, ice and tides in Massachusetts
Reading the Massachusetts timeline
Each day has two major solunar periods of about two hours, centered on the moon overhead and underfoot, and two minor periods of about an hour at moonrise and moonset. A window within an hour of sunrise or sunset is marked in gold. The rating adds the moon phase, the gold windows and a capped nudge from the National Weather Service forecast for each town. Every factor and its points.
Dawn and dusk are the reliable part; the moon windows are the old angler’s rule.
