Waterlands

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Little tunnyPeak season

Bay · Maryland

Goose Harbor Cove

37.99°N · 76.05°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA

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Best score today · 2 AM · Little tunny

76/100Great
Now
546 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score54Good
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind14 kn NEgusts 29 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast34% chance of rain
Water73°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Maryland

Spot profile

Goose Harbor Cove

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonLittle tunny

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 Goose Harbor Cove

Goose Harbor Cove is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA, Maryland. Depth is 1-6 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, little tunny and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and spot, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, black sea bass and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
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.
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

  • Channel Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Scup 57
    • Bluefish 54

    14 kt NEH 11:04 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:36 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Levering Creek

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 59
    • Red drum 57

    14 kt NEH 11:04 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:36 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Chaisey Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    59
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 59
    • Red drum 56
    • Scup 54

    14 kt NEH 11:04 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:36 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Frances Gut

    Gut · 0.5 mi

    59
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 59
    • Spot 57
    • Summer flounder 56

    14 kt NEH 11:04 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:36 AM · 0.6 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.