Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak 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 · Summer flounder

76/100Great
Now
593 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score59Good
Tide0.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward S
Wind13 kn ENEgusts 25 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 3 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast38% chance of rain
Water74°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here

Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in Maryland

Spot profile

Goose Harbor Cove

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSummer flounder

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 spot, little tunny and sheepshead. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Chaisey Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    68
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 68
    • Red drum 63
    • Spot 61

    13 kt ENEL 5:00 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:04 PM · 1.9 ft

  • Channel Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    68
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 68
    • Spot 61
    • Bluefish 60

    13 kt ENEL 5:00 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:04 PM · 1.9 ft

  • Frances Gut

    Gut · 0.5 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Sheepshead 65
    • Summer flounder 63

    13 kt ENEL 5:00 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:04 PM · 1.9 ft

  • Levering Creek

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Red drum 61
    • Bluefish 60

    13 kt ENEL 5:00 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:04 PM · 1.9 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.