Bass River (Yarmouth and Dennis)

The Bass River meets Nantucket Sound in Yarmouth, and Marine Fisheries has built two public fishing piers along it, both next to state boat ramps. They're easy places to catch scup, black sea bass, fluke and kingfish on the bottom, with striped bass and bluefish in the mix.

Where to fish

• Smuggler's Beach pier (Yarmouth): at the mouth of the river, looking out on Nantucket Sound. At a Marine Fisheries kids' clinic here, young anglers caught scup, sea bass, bluefish, smooth dogfish and northern kingfish.
• Bass River pier (High Bank Road, Yarmouth): up the river at a rebuilt state boat ramp, where anglers regularly catch striped bass, scup, sea bass and summer flounder.

Getting there

Both piers sit beside state boat ramps; MassWildlife also lists an accessible fishing pier on the Bass River at South Street in Yarmouth. You need a Massachusetts saltwater fishing permit. Scup, black sea bass and summer flounder have seasons and different size limits for shore and boat anglers, and striped bass have a slot limit and a circle hook rule for bait.