Waterlands

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Little tunnyPeak season

Cape · Maryland

Horseshoe Point

38.83°N · 76.49°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD

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Best score today · 1 AM · Spot

72/100Great
Now
727 AM EDT
Best window
1-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.9 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score72Great
Tide0.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward SSW
Wind11 kn NNEgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp68°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy69% cloud
Water77°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Maryland

Spot profile

Horseshoe Point

Depth
2-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonLittle tunny

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 Horseshoe Point

Horseshoe Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, Maryland. Depth is 2-4 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, spot and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, Spanish mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, spotted seatrout, striped bass and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Thomas Point

    Cape · 5.4 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Spanish mackerel 68
    • Red drum 67

    10 kt NNEL 8:32 AM · 0.8 ftH 1:29 PM · 1.0 ft

  • West River

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Spanish mackerel 67
    • Red drum 66

    11 kt NNEL 8:26 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:18 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Curtis Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Spot 68
    • Spanish mackerel 64

    11 kt NNEL 9:09 AM · 0.8 ftH 1:46 PM · 1.0 ft

  • Saunders Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Spot 67
    • Red drum 63

    10 kt NNEL 8:26 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:18 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.