Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Cape · Maryland

Possum Point

38.99°N · 76.45°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD

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Best score today · 12 AM · Tautog

71/100Great
Now
467 PM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 7 PM

Time7P
Score62Good
Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward ENE
Wind3 kn NEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherClear3% cloud
Water70°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here

Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder

Tautog season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Tautog in Maryland

Spot profile

Possum Point

Depth
2-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonTautog

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 Possum Point

Possum Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, Maryland. Depth is 2-10 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 sheepshead. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Tautog
Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Mill Creek

    Bay · 0.1 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Red drum 63
    • Summer flounder 61

    15 kt ENEL 8:36 PM · 0.6 ftH 3:24 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Bowdoin Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Spot 62
    • Sheepshead 59

    15 kt ENEL 8:36 PM · 0.6 ftH 3:24 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Whitehall Bay

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Little tunny 65
    • Sheepshead 64

    15 kt ENEL 8:36 PM · 0.6 ftH 3:24 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Whitehall Flats

    Flat · 0.5 mi

    65
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 65
    • Spot 62
    • Little tunny 61

    15 kt ENEL 8:36 PM · 0.6 ftH 3:24 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.