Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · Maryland

Great Marsh Point

38.58°N · 76.08°W · Cape · Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River

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Best score today · 1 AM · Red drum

73/100Great
Now
557 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score73Great
Tide1.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward SE
Wind3 kn Egusts 14 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy25% cloud
Water70°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red drum 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 Red drum is best here

Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak

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

Red drum in Maryland

Spot profile

Great Marsh Point

Depth
2-9 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonRed drum

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 Great Marsh Point

Great Marsh Point is a cape in Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, Maryland. Depth in the nearest water is 2-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, spot and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, Spanish mackerel and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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

  • Hambrooke Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Spot 59
    • Bluefish 57

    12 kt ENEL 7:49 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:15 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Hambrooks Bay

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Little tunny 63
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    12 kt ENEL 7:49 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:15 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Hambrooks Bar

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Spanish mackerel 63
    • Bluefish 59

    12 kt ENEL 7:49 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:15 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Dickinson Bay

    Bay · 2.6 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Little tunny 63
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    12 kt ENEL 7:49 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:15 AM · 2.2 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.