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Summer flounderPeak seasonBar · Maryland
Bodkin Point Shoal
39.14°N · 76.43°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 1 AM · Summer flounder
- Now
- 561 PM EDT
- Best window
- 3-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bodkin Point 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 · 1 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
56Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
35Wind: 14 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
77Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.0 ftSeason & habitat · Summer flounder
Species seasonality
84Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here
Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Bodkin Point Shoal
- Depth
- 9-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonSummer flounder
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, Spanish mackerel and scup. It is peak season now for little tunny, Spanish mackerel, scup and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, king mackerel and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Scup peak from June through October.
Tackle & technique
- Summer flounder
- Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Bodkin Creek62
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 62
- Spot 59
- Red drum 57
14 kt ENEH 3:54 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:42 PM · 0.7 ft
- Bodkin Point60
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 60
- Scup 57
- Spot 54
14 kt ENEH 3:54 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:42 PM · 0.7 ft
- Cedar Point60
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 60
- Scup 57
- Spot 54
14 kt ENEH 3:54 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:42 PM · 0.7 ft
- Sevenfoot Knoll56
Bar · 1.7 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 56
- Little tunny 54
- Scup 54
14 kt ENEH 4:35 PM · 1.2 ftL 10:24 PM · 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.
