Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder 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 · King mackerel

70/100Great
Now
433 PM EDT
Best window
3-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.1 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 79

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score43Fair
Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward NNW
Wind13 kn ENEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% chance of rain
Water75°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with Maryland DNR before you keep a fish.

Always check with Maryland DNR ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: Maryland DNR · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

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

King mackerel in Maryland →

Spot profile

Bodkin Point Shoal

Depth
9-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonKing mackerel

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 scup, spot and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for scup, spot, Spanish mackerel and little tunny, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and king mackerel. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.
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

View all on map →
  • Bodkin Creek

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Spot 66
    • Red drum 55

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

  • Bodkin Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 61
    • Little tunny 57

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

  • Cedar Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 61
    • Little tunny 57

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

  • Sevenfoot Knoll

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    57
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 57
    • Spanish mackerel 57
    • Little tunny 56

    13 kt ENEH 4:35 PM · 1.2 ftL 10:24 PM · 0.8 ft

Open in the tide map

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.