Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Hills Point Cove

38.57°N · 76.30°W · Bay · Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River

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Best score today · 7 PM · Cobia

83/100Great
Now
4611 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 PM · now

Time11PNOW
Score46Good
Tide2.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind8 kn NNEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 2 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherClear18% cloud
Water79°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Cobia 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 Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Cobia in Maryland

Spot profile

Hills Point Cove

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonCobia

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 Hills Point Cove

Hills Point Cove is a bay in Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, Maryland. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, Atlantic croaker and scup. It is peak season now for spot, scup, red drum and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spotted seatrout, bluefish and weakfish. Spot peak from August through October. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August. Scup peak from June through October.

Tackle & technique

Cobia
Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
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.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Trippe Bay

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    77
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 77
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Scup 66

    8 kt NNEL 5:54 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:20 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Brannock Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    75
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 75
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Scup 64

    8 kt NNEL 5:54 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:20 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Rioll Cove

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    75
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 75
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Scup 64

    8 kt NNEL 5:54 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:20 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Covey Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Atlantic croaker 61
    • Scup 61

    8 kt NNEL 5:54 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:20 AM · 1.4 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.