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WeakfishShoulder 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 · 12 AM · Weakfish
- Now
- 517 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.6 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 7 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
34Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 9 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
79Water temp: 77°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Weakfish
Species seasonality
53Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Weakfish is best here
Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
North Shoal
- Depth
- 4-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · 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 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 Spanish mackerel, little tunny and spot. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, little tunny, spot and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, spotted seatrout, Atlantic croaker and black sea bass. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Whitehall Creek70
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 70
- Red drum 68
- Scup 64
9 kt EL 7:38 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:38 AM · 1.6 ft
- Goose Pond70
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 70
- Spanish mackerel 68
- Little tunny 66
9 kt EL 7:38 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:38 AM · 1.6 ft
- Whitehall Flats70
Flat · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Spot 65
- Spotted seatrout 64
9 kt EL 7:38 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:38 AM · 1.6 ft
- Whitehall Bay70
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 70
- Spanish mackerel 68
- Little tunny 66
9 kt EL 7:38 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:38 AM · 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.
