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WeakfishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 PM · Weakfish
- Now
- 411 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Low0.2 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Doves Cove 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 · 1 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
14Tide: Low slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
53Wind: 12 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
60Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.5 ftSeason & habitat · Weakfish
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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 · Sync unavailable, last verified Sep 13, 2026
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
Doves Cove
- Depth
- 2-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Doves Cove
Doves Cove is a bay in Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD, Maryland. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and sheepshead. It is peak season now for scup, spot, sheepshead and little tunny, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead 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.
- 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
- Towner Cove55
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 55
- Spot 52
- Sheepshead 50
12 kt NEH 7:27 PM · 1.3 ftL 1:15 AM · 0.4 ft
- Redman Cove54
Bay · 1.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 54
- Spot 51
- Little tunny 49
12 kt NEH 7:27 PM · 1.3 ftL 1:15 AM · 0.4 ft
- Beach Point52
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 52
- Scup 49
- Spot 46
12 kt NEH 7:27 PM · 1.3 ftL 1:15 AM · 0.4 ft
- Pond Point52
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 52
- Scup 49
- Spot 46
12 kt NEH 7:27 PM · 1.3 ftL 1:15 AM · 0.4 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.