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Striped bassShoulder seasonBar · Maryland
North Shoal
38.98°N · 76.43°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Striped bass
- Now
- 444 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-10 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when North Shoal 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
Saturday, Oct 3 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
70Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 10 kt SSEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
90Water temp: 70°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
64Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Striped bass 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 Striped bass is best here
Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
North Shoal
- Depth
- 4-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonStriped bass
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 North Shoal
North Shoal is a bar in Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, Maryland. Depth is 4-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and bluefish. It is peak season now for spot, scup, little tunny and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, weakfish and black sea bass. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Striped bass
- Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Whitehall Creek69
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 69
- Scup 66
- Red drum 58
15 kt NEL 9:54 AM · 0.8 ftH 3:27 PM · 1.3 ft
- Goose Pond69
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 69
- Scup 66
- Atlantic croaker 57
15 kt NEL 9:54 AM · 0.8 ftH 3:27 PM · 1.3 ft
- Whitehall Bay69
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 69
- Scup 66
- Atlantic croaker 57
15 kt NEL 9:54 AM · 0.8 ftH 3:27 PM · 1.3 ft
- Whitehall Flats64
Flat · 0.9 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 64
- Scup 61
- Red drum 60
15 kt NEL 9:54 AM · 0.8 ftH 3:27 PM · 1.3 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.