Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Cape · Maryland

Valliant Point

38.77°N · 76.37°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD

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Best score today · 12 AM · King mackerel

72/100Great
Now
422 PM EDT
Best window
2-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.4 ft

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score42Fair
Tide1.4 ftHigh
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward N
Wind14 kn ENEgusts 25 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.2 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast92% chance of rain
Water75°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with Maryland DNR before you keep a fish.

Always check with Maryland DNR ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: Maryland DNR · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

King mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

King mackerel in Maryland →

Spot profile

Valliant Point

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonKing mackerel

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 Valliant Point

Valliant Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, Maryland. Depth is 1-4 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, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, striped bass and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
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.
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

View all on map →
  • Poplar Island Narrows

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Scup 67
    • Atlantic croaker 60

    14 kt ENEL 7:50 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:31 AM · 1.7 ft

  • North Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Spot 63
    • Little tunny 58

    14 kt ENEL 7:50 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:31 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Punch Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Scup 62
    • Little tunny 57

    14 kt ENEL 7:38 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:22 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Great Marsh Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Scup 62
    • Little tunny 57

    14 kt ENEL 7:38 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:22 AM · 1.8 ft

Open in the tide map

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.