Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder 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 · 12 AM · Weakfish

77/100Great
Now
463 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score46Good
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind15 kn ENEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.2 ft · 3 s
Air temp68°Warm
WeatherOvercast72% chance of rain
Water77°FObserved

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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Weakfish in Maryland

Spot profile

Hills Point Cove

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 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, scup and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for spot, scup, Spanish mackerel and little tunny, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and weakfish. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Spanish mackerel 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.
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.
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

  • Rioll Cove

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    63
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 63
    • Scup 61
    • Spanish mackerel 58

    15 kt ENEL 7:23 PM · 0.9 ftH 1:48 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Brannock Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    62
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 62
    • Scup 60
    • Spanish mackerel 58

    15 kt ENEL 7:23 PM · 0.9 ftH 1:48 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Trippe Bay

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    61
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 61
    • Scup 60
    • Spanish mackerel 57

    15 kt ENEL 7:23 PM · 0.9 ftH 1:48 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Covey Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    59
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 59
    • Spot 56
    • Scup 54

    15 kt ENEL 7:23 PM · 0.9 ftH 1:48 AM · 2.1 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.