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CobiaShoulder seasonBar · Maryland
Belvidere Shoal
39.09°N · 76.38°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 422 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Belvidere Shoal 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 · 2 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
79Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
50Wind: 15 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
60Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.8 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: 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 yesterday
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
Belvidere Shoal
- Depth
- About 20 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · 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 Belvidere Shoal
Belvidere Shoal is a bar in Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, Maryland. Depth is about 20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, bluefish and little tunny. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, scup and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Spot peak from August through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Little tunny peak 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.
- Bluefish
- Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Craighill Angle72
Channel · 2.5 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 72
- Scup 69
- Sheepshead 67
13 kt NEH 4:26 AM · 1.6 ftL 11:13 AM · 0.7 ft
- Craighill Channel70
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 70
- Scup 67
- Sheepshead 64
15 kt NEH 4:26 AM · 1.6 ftL 11:13 AM · 0.7 ft
- Mountain Point67
Cape · 3.6 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 67
- Spot 63
- Bluefish 61
15 kt NEH 4:51 AM · 1.3 ftL 11:47 AM · 0.6 ft
- Sixfoot Knoll66
Bar · 3.6 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 66
- Bluefish 64
- Little tunny 64
13 kt NEH 4:26 AM · 1.6 ftL 11:13 AM · 0.7 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.