Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak 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 · 7 AM · Summer flounder

72/100Great
Now
464 PM EDT
Best window
4-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score46Good
Tide1.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward N
Wind15 kn ENEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.3 ft · 3 s
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast90% chance of rain
Water75°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Summer flounder is best here

Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in Maryland

Spot profile

Horseshoe Point

Depth
2-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSummer flounder

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 scup, little tunny and spot. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
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

  • Thomas Point

    Cape · 5.4 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 60
    • Spot 59

    15 kt ENEL 8:09 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:59 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Saunders Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Scup 56
    • Bluefish 54

    15 kt ENEL 8:03 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:48 AM · 1.6 ft

  • West River

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    60
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 60
    • Spot 59
    • Little tunny 57

    15 kt ENEL 8:03 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:48 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Curtis Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    59
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 59
    • Little tunny 58
    • Spot 58

    15 kt ENEL 8:46 PM · 0.6 ftH 3:16 AM · 1.5 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.