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WeakfishShoulder seasonBay · Maryland
Hooper Cove
38.50°N · 76.28°W · Bay · Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Weakfish
- Now
- 447 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.8 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hooper 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
Monday, Sep 28 · 3 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
88Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
70Wind: 12 kt NNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
93Water temp: 69°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 1.3 ftSeason & habitat · Weakfish
Species seasonality
74Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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 · synced today
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
Hooper Cove
- Depth
- Up to 5 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 Hooper Cove
Hooper Cove is a bay in Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, Maryland. Depth is up to 5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, Atlantic croaker and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.
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
- Cators Cove58
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 58
- Red drum 57
- Spot 57
14 kt ENEH 1:40 AM · 2.0 ftL 8:51 AM · 0.9 ft
- Hooper Point56
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 56
- Scup 50
- Bluefish 49
14 kt ENEH 1:40 AM · 2.0 ftL 8:51 AM · 0.9 ft
- Holland Point56
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 56
- Scup 50
- Bluefish 49
14 kt ENEH 1:40 AM · 2.0 ftL 8:51 AM · 0.9 ft
- Poverty Point56
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 56
- Scup 50
- Bluefish 49
14 kt ENEH 1:40 AM · 2.0 ftL 8:51 AM · 0.9 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.