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Spotted seatroutShoulder seasonBay · Maryland
Hawk Cove
39.26°N · 76.39°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Spotted seatrout
- Now
- 411 PM EDT
- Best window
- 3-7 PMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding0.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hawk Cove 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
46Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
30Wind: 12 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
55Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.5 ftSeason & habitat · Spotted seatrout
Species seasonality
67Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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 · Sync unavailable, last verified Sep 13, 2026
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spotted seatrout is best here
Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Hawk Cove
- Depth
- About 10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 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 sheepshead. It is peak season now for scup, spot, sheepshead and little tunny, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, black sea bass and Atlantic croaker. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.
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.
- 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
- Balliston Point57
Cape · 1.0 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 57
- Scup 56
- Spot 52
12 kt NEH 5:23 PM · 1.3 ftL 11:21 PM · 0.7 ft
- Wells Point57
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 57
- Scup 56
- Spot 53
12 kt NEH 5:23 PM · 1.3 ftL 11:21 PM · 0.7 ft
- Booby Point57
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 57
- Scup 56
- Spot 53
12 kt NEH 5:23 PM · 1.3 ftL 11:21 PM · 0.7 ft
- Sedgy Point54
Cape · 4.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 54
- Spot 54
- Scup 53
12 kt NEH 5:23 PM · 1.3 ftL 11:21 PM · 0.7 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.