Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · Maryland

Bodkin Point

39.13°N · 76.43°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD

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Best score today · 7 PM · Spot

74/100Great
Now
702 AM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Sunday, Sep 27 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score77Great
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward NNW
Wind8 kn NNEgusts 20 · steady
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water72°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red drum 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 Red drum is best here

Peak season for Red drum · 5 more weeks at peak

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

Red drum in Maryland

Spot profile

Bodkin Point

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonRed drum

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 Bodkin Point

Bodkin Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, Maryland. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are red drum, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for red drum, spot, little tunny and sheepshead, and shoulder season for spotted seatrout, striped bass, Atlantic croaker and bluefish. Red drum peak in May and from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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

  • Bodkin Creek

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    77
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 77
    • Spot 72
    • Spotted seatrout 67

    5 kt WNWL 7:11 AM · 0.9 ftH 12:02 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Craighill Angle

    Channel · 1.9 mi

    75
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 75
    • Spot 73
    • Spotted seatrout 66

    5 kt WNWL 7:11 AM · 0.9 ftH 12:02 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Cedar Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Spot 67
    • Little tunny 63

    5 kt WNWL 7:11 AM · 0.9 ftH 12:02 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Bodkin Point Shoal

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Spot 67
    • Spanish mackerel 64

    5 kt WNWL 7:11 AM · 0.9 ftH 12:02 PM · 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.