Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

West River

38.86°N · 76.50°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD

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Best score today · 6 PM · Little tunny

79/100Great
Now
5010 PM EST
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.5 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 5 · 6 AM

Time6A
Score65Great
Tide0.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward S
Wind9 kn Sgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 2 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast96% cloud
Water62°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Shoulder season for Little tunny · 3 more weeks at shoulder

Little tunny season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Little tunny · 3 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Maryland →

Spot profile

West River

Depth
10-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonLittle tunny

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 West River

West River is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, Maryland. Depth is 10-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, striped bass, bluefish and tautog, and shoulder season for scup, spot, weakfish and red drum. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • Horseshoe Point

    Cape · 2.2 mi

    75
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 75
    • Spotted seatrout 71
    • Bluefish 65

    6 kt SEH 10:39 PM · 1.4 ftL 5:54 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Thomas Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    75
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 75
    • Spotted seatrout 72
    • Bluefish 63

    5 kt SSEL 5:17 AM · 0.5 ftH 10:32 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Curtis Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    73
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 73
    • Spotted seatrout 68
    • Bluefish 64

    6 kt SEH 10:39 PM · 1.4 ftL 5:54 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Saunders Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Scup 62
    • Spotted seatrout 62

    5 kt SSEL 5:11 AM · 0.5 ftH 10:21 AM · 1.0 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.