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TautogShoulder seasonBay · Maryland
Cow Cove
38.24°N · 76.16°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 2 AM · Tautog
- Now
- 449 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cow Cove 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
Friday, Oct 2 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt SWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
49Water temp: 72°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Tautog
Species seasonality
62Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here
Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cow Cove
- Depth
- 1-2 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonTautog
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 Cow Cove
Cow Cove is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA, Maryland. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for scup, spot, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, black sea bass and Atlantic croaker. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Tautog
- Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
- Scup
- Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Muddy Hook Cove67
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 67
- Spot 67
- Sheepshead 64
14 kt ENEH 12:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 7:12 AM · 1.1 ft
- Dicks Point66
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 66
- Scup 62
- Spot 62
14 kt ENEH 12:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 7:12 AM · 1.1 ft
- Richland Cove65
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 65
- Spot 65
- Sheepshead 62
14 kt ENEH 12:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 7:12 AM · 1.1 ft
- Richland Point65
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 65
- Bluefish 60
- Scup 60
14 kt ENEH 12:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 7:12 AM · 1.1 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.