Waterlands

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SheepsheadPeak season

Cape · Maryland

Booby Point

39.29°N · 76.38°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD

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Best score today · 9 AM · Sheepshead

71/100Great
Now
536 PM EDT
Best window
6-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.2 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 28 · 7 PM

Time7P
Score69Great
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward N
Wind5 kn NNWgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 2 s
Air temp68°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water68°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sheepshead 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 Sheepshead is best here

Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak

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

Sheepshead in Maryland

Spot profile

Booby Point

Depth
1-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSheepshead

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 Booby Point

Booby Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, Maryland. Depth is 1-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Sheepshead
Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hawthorn Cove

    Bay · 2.6 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Spot 68
    • Spanish mackerel 57

    13 kt NEL 12:17 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:33 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Hawk Cove

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    67
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 67
    • Spot 66
    • Little tunny 61

    13 kt NEL 10:24 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:07 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Wells Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 62

    13 kt NEL 10:24 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:07 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Balliston Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 61
    • Spot 61

    13 kt NEL 10:24 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:07 AM · 1.7 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.