Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Cape · Maryland

Shell Point

39.27°N · 76.21°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD

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Best score today · 9 AM · Weakfish

80/100Great
Now
591 AM EDT
Best window
8-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 5 AM

Time5A
Score71Great
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.0 kn · toward SSW
Wind8 kn Egusts 17 · steady
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water71°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Weakfish in Maryland

Spot profile

Shell Point

Depth
4-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 Shell Point

Shell Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, Maryland. Depth is 4-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, little tunny and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, red drum and scup, and shoulder season for bluefish, spotted seatrout, Atlantic croaker and striped bass. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Beacon Bay

    Bay · 3.0 mi

    78
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 78
    • Red drum 71
    • Scup 69

    6 kt NNWH 4:43 AM · 2.1 ftL 12:02 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Stoops Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    73
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 73
    • Little tunny 69
    • Red drum 68

    6 kt NNWH 4:43 AM · 2.1 ftL 12:02 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Handys Point

    Cape · 2.2 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Little tunny 68
    • Red drum 67

    6 kt NNWH 4:43 AM · 2.1 ftL 12:02 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Robins Point

    Cape · 4.3 mi

    72
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 72
    • Red drum 72
    • Spot 72

    6 kt NNWH 4:43 AM · 2.1 ftL 12:02 PM · 1.1 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.