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Striped bassShoulder 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 · Striped bass
- Now
- 386 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low1.1 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
14Tide: Low slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
40Wind: 14 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
70Water temp: 73°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.8 ftSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
54Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Striped bass 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 Striped bass is best here
Shoulder season for Striped bass · 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 seasonStriped bass
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, black sea bass, weakfish 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
- Striped bass
- Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
- 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
- Dicks Point56
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 56
- Scup 50
- Bluefish 49
14 kt ENEH 12:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 7:12 AM · 1.1 ft
- Richland Point55
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 55
- Scup 49
- Bluefish 48
14 kt ENEH 12:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 7:12 AM · 1.1 ft
- Muddy Hook Cove55
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 55
- Little tunny 53
- Spot 53
14 kt ENEH 12:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 7:12 AM · 1.1 ft
- Richland Cove54
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 54
- Little tunny 52
- Spot 52
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.