Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

King mackerelShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Lecompte Bay

38.60°N · 76.16°W · Bay · Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · King mackerel

77/100Great
Now
417 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.9 ft

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

Notify me when Lecompte Bay scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions

Friday, Oct 2 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score35Fair
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward SE
Wind4 kn SWgusts 10 · steady
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherOvercast95% cloud
Water70°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel 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 King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

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

King mackerel in Maryland

Spot profile

Lecompte Bay

Depth
8-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonKing mackerel

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 Lecompte Bay

Lecompte Bay is a bay in Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, Maryland. Depth is 8-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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 sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, black sea bass and Atlantic croaker. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
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

  • Hambrooke Point

    Cape · 3.8 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

  • Dickinson Bay

    Bay · 3.6 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

  • Todds Bay

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    58
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 58
    • Spot 55
    • Little tunny 54

    14 kt ENEH 1:48 AM · 2.1 ftL 8:54 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Chapel Creek

    Bay · 3.0 mi

    57
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 57
    • Spot 55
    • Red drum 54

    14 kt ENEH 1:48 AM · 2.1 ftL 8:54 AM · 1.0 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.