Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

WeakfishShoulder season

Cape · Maryland

Shell Point

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 10 AM · Weakfish

74/100Great
Now
5710 AM EDT
Best window
10-11 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Shell Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions

Friday, Oct 2 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score67Great
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward SSW
Wind3 kn SEgusts 11 · steady
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy73% cloud
Water68°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 little tunny, Spanish mackerel and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, Spanish mackerel, spot and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and king mackerel. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

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.
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

  • Stoops Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Spanish mackerel 65
    • Bluefish 64

    14 kt NEL 12:38 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:45 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Handys Point

    Cape · 2.2 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Spanish mackerel 65
    • Spot 64

    14 kt NEL 12:38 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:45 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Robins Point

    Cape · 4.3 mi

    72
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 72
    • Spanish mackerel 64
    • Spot 64

    14 kt NEL 12:38 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:45 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Beacon Bay

    Bay · 3.0 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Spot 70
    • Spanish mackerel 69

    14 kt NEL 12:38 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:45 PM · 1.6 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.