Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Cape · Maryland

Rattlesnake Point

39.37°N · 75.92°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD

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Best score today · 6 AM · Weakfish

84/100Great
Now
513 PM EST
Best window
5-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.4 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Nov 9 · 12 AM

Time12A
Score66Great
Tide1.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward SSW
Wind5 kn Wgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp52°Cool
WeatherClear8% cloud
Water61°FModel

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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Weakfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Weakfish · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Weakfish in Maryland →

Spot profile

Rattlesnake Point

Depth
2-15 ftSlope
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · slope
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 Rattlesnake Point

Rattlesnake Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD, Maryland. Depth is 2-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are striped bass, scup and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for striped bass, spotted seatrout, tautog and bluefish, and shoulder season for scup, spot, little tunny and weakfish. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Scup peak from June through October. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November.

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.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
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

  • Penningtons Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    77
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 77
    • Spotted seatrout 69
    • Bluefish 65

    2 kt SL 7:53 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:29 AM · 2.7 ft

  • Ordinary Point

    Cape · 3.2 mi

    72
    Top: ScupShoulder season
    • Scup 72
    • Striped bass 69
    • Black sea bass 63

    2 kt SL 8:57 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:24 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Ponds Bar

    Cape · 3.8 mi

    69
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 69
    • Scup 64
    • Spotted seatrout 61

    2 kt SL 8:57 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:24 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Old Field Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    68
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 68
    • Scup 63
    • Spotted seatrout 61

    2 kt SL 8:57 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:24 AM · 1.8 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.