Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Hooper Cove

38.50°N · 76.28°W · Bay · Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River

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Best score today · 11 AM · Cobia

74/100Great
Now
464 AM EDT
Best window
10 AM-1 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score46Good
Tide1.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind15 kn NEgusts 25 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast63% chance of rain
Water76°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 yesterday

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

Hooper Cove

Depth
Up to 5 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 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 spot, sheepshead and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, sheepshead, red drum and little tunny, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, Atlantic croaker and black sea bass. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Red drum peak in May and from September 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.
Sheepshead
Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cators Cove

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Red drum 64
    • Bluefish 58

    15 kt NEL 8:51 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:56 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Hooper Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Spot 61
    • Bluefish 58

    15 kt NEL 8:51 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:56 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Holland Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Spot 61
    • Bluefish 58

    15 kt NEL 8:51 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:56 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Poverty Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Spot 61
    • Bluefish 58

    15 kt NEL 8:51 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:56 PM · 1.6 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.