Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bar · Maryland

Belvidere Shoal

39.09°N · 76.38°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD

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Best score today · 1 AM · Weakfish

70/100Great
Now
452 PM EDT
Best window
2-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score45Good
Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind15 kn ENEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% chance of rain
Water76°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

Weakfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Weakfish in Maryland

Spot profile

Belvidere Shoal

Depth
About 20 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 Spanish mackerel, little tunny and scup. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, little tunny, scup and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, king mackerel and weakfish. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October.

Tackle & technique

Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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.
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

  • Mountain Point

    Cape · 3.6 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 60
    • Spot 59

    15 kt ENEH 4:19 PM · 1.0 ftL 10:16 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Craighill Channel

    Channel · 1.7 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 61
    • Summer flounder 59

    15 kt ENEH 3:54 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:42 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Craighill Angle

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 60
    • Summer flounder 58

    14 kt ENEH 3:54 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:42 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Sixfoot Knoll

    Bar · 3.6 mi

    57
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 57
    • Scup 57
    • Spanish mackerel 57

    14 kt ENEH 3:54 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:42 PM · 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.