Scalloping in Mass

[TimG13]

Hey All,
New to this site, never been scalloping before but I am looking to try it out with a few friends in the next month or so. Was seeing if anyone could help me out and fill me in on how to find them, what to look for, or general areas. I will mostly be in and around Boston Harbor but will go anywhere along the MA coast.

Thanks in advance for any info,
Tim

 

[petrieps]

Hi Tim,

Not surprisingly no one has answered your post. Scallop locations are a carefully guarded secrets, even general locations. I can tell you the information is out there. You just gotta know where to look. Check this link out, there are a couple of word docs worth reading http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...sted-articles-lobster-scallop-hunting-ma.html. They'll point you in the right direction. If you do make it up to the northshore I would be willing to share a site or two. Good luck

 

[mathauck0814]

Scallop season in MA also tends to be later in the year. November-March are when I've had the best luck. You're unlikely to get the locations where folks go, but you can charter a boat out of Cape Ann and ask them to take you to some of the spots they know of.

Good luck!

 

[TimG13]

yeah I figured, that article was what I was looking for and real helpful. Thanks for the advice guys

 

[macado]

Hi Tim,

I would recommend going on a scallop charter with Boston Scuba. (bostonscuba.com) They run charters from East Boston. It's a great boat that I go out with frequently. They used to be called Boston Harbor Diving Company but rebranded to Boston Scuba last year when they opened up a small dive shop.

Captain Jim and Pat know some very productive scallop beds, an added bonus is that they're somewhat more shallow than the beds up in the Cape Ann area.

I was actually just out this Sunday for a scallop charter. I also went out Monday and did one scallop dive. This is after two 25 minute dives. I currently have 4 full ziplock bags in my freezer full of scallops if this helps give an indication of how good the scalloping can be.



Here's a video I made in February of Scallop Diving with Boston Scuba as well.
Scallop Diving with Boston Scuba (February 20th, 2012) - YouTube


The Daybreaker run by Fran / Matt Marcoux in Gloucester also occasionally does scallop dives. I've done a scallop charter with them before and had a great time. They have a really good boat as well but I found the scallop beds to be slightly deeper and a bit more spread out than Boston Harbor.