Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Channel · Maryland

Poplar Island Narrows

38.76°N · 76.35°W · Channel · Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD

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Best score today · 12 AM · Weakfish

77/100Great
Now
549 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Sep 26 · 3 AM

Time3A
Score70Great
Tide1.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.9 kn · toward N
Wind13 kn Ngusts 23 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 3 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy72% cloud
Water73°FBias corrected

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 today

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

Poplar Island Narrows

Depth
9-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Poplar Island Narrows

Poplar Island Narrows is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, Maryland. Depth is 9-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for spot, scup, Spanish mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, black sea bass, weakfish and bluefish. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

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.
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

  • Valliant Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Scup 57
    • Spot 57

    14 kt NEH 2:31 AM · 1.7 ftL 8:59 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Great Marsh Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    60
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 60
    • Spot 59
    • Bluefish 56

    14 kt NEH 2:22 AM · 1.8 ftL 9:09 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Punch Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    60
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 60
    • Spot 59
    • Bluefish 56

    14 kt NEH 2:22 AM · 1.8 ftL 9:09 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Green Marsh Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    60
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 60
    • Spot 58
    • Bluefish 56

    14 kt NEH 2:22 AM · 1.8 ftL 9:09 AM · 0.8 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.