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CobiaShoulder seasonBay · Maryland
Chesapeake Bay
38.03°N · 76.18°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 541 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Chesapeake Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 1 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
54Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 8 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
78Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
57Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Cobia is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with Maryland DNR before you keep a fish.
Source: Maryland DNR · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Chesapeake Bay
- Depth
- About 25 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCobia
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA, Maryland. Depth is about 25 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, Spanish mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, Spanish mackerel, red drum and sheepshead, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, cobia and weakfish. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Cobia
- Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
- Spot
- Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Goose Harbor Cove75
Bay · 7.2 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 75
- Spanish mackerel 70
- Red drum 69
5 kt NEL 4:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:16 PM · 1.9 ft
- Channel Point74
Cape · 7.0 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 74
- Spot 72
- Spanish mackerel 68
5 kt NEL 4:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:16 PM · 1.9 ft
- Fog Point74
Cape · 7.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 74
- Spot 72
- Spanish mackerel 68
5 kt NEL 4:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:16 PM · 1.9 ft
- Eagle Point68
Cape · 7.1 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 68
- Spot 66
- Spanish mackerel 63
8 kt NNEL 4:14 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:33 PM · 1.6 ft
Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with Maryland DNR before you keep a fish.