Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Hawk Cove

39.26°N · 76.39°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD

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Best score today · 1 AM · Atlantic croaker

75/100Great
Now
546 PM EDT
Best window
6-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.2 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: Sun · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score54Good
Tide1.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind13 kn NEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast98% chance of rain
Water74°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic croaker 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 Atlantic croaker is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Atlantic croaker in Maryland →

Spot profile

Hawk Cove

Depth
About 10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic croaker

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 Hawk Cove

Hawk Cove is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, Maryland. Depth is about 10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
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 →
  • Wells Point

    Cape · 1.4 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 · 1.0 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

  • Booby Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 62

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

  • Sedgy Point

    Cape · 4.3 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 61

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