Waterlands

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Spotted seatroutShoulder season

Bar · Maryland

Bodkin Point Shoal

39.14°N · 76.43°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD

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Best score today · 1 AM · Spotted seatrout

68/100Great
Now
3910 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.7 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Sep 30 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score65Great
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind2 kn Sgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy24% cloud
Water69°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Spotted seatrout 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 Spotted seatrout is best here

Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Spotted seatrout in Maryland

Spot profile

Bodkin Point Shoal

Depth
9-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSpotted seatrout

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 Shoal

Bodkin Point Shoal is a bar in Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, Maryland. Depth is 9-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, spot and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, scup and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Bodkin Creek

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    59
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 59
    • Scup 58
    • Red drum 56

    13 kt ENEH 4:26 AM · 1.6 ftL 11:13 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Bodkin Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    56
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 56
    • Spot 54
    • Scup 53

    13 kt ENEH 4:26 AM · 1.6 ftL 11:13 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Cedar Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    56
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 56
    • Spot 54
    • Scup 53

    13 kt ENEH 4:26 AM · 1.6 ftL 11:13 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Sevenfoot Knoll

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    53
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 53
    • Little tunny 53
    • Spot 53

    13 kt ENEH 5:07 AM · 1.7 ftL 11:55 AM · 0.8 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.