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Best score today · 12 AM · Cobia

70/100Great

Now: 429 PM EDT
Best window: 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now: Flooding1.1 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 PM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time9PNOW

Score42Fair

Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding

CurrentSlack0.1 kn

Wind14 kn NEgusts 23 · steady

Sea stateModerate2.1 ft · 3 s

Air temp64°Mild

WeatherOvercast72% chance of rain

Water76°FObserved

TUE · SEP 22

WED · SEP 23

6P

7P

8P

NOW

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

3A

4A

5A

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

36

34

37

42

43

41

37

29

33

40

41

44

45

38

32

40

46

44

38

28

29

35

40

0.1

○0.0

○0.1

0.2

0.1

○0.1

○0.0

0.1

0.2

0.1

○0.1

○0.0

0.1

0.2

0.1

○0.1

○0.0

○0.1

2715

2515

2314

2415

2414

2515

2514

2614

2714

2815

2916

2915

2.2

2.1

2.2

2.1

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.1

2.0

1.9

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.3

89%

85%

80%

72%

62%

57%

59%

65%

69%

70%

69%

67%

65%

59%

48%

35%

77°

76°

75°

Hour

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.

Always check with Maryland DNR ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Peak
Shoulder
Off
Not here
This week

Cobia in Maryland →

Spot profile

Nelson Island Shoal

Depth: 2-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · 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 Nelson Island Shoal

Nelson Island Shoal is a bar in Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, Maryland. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, bluefish and little tunny. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and scup, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, Atlantic croaker and weakfish. Spot peak from August through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Little tunny peak 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.
Bluefish: Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →

Balls Creek
Bay · 1.5 mi
67
Top: SpotPeak season
- Spot 67
- Scup 64
- Red drum 62
14 kt NEH 1:58 AM · 2.3 ftL 9:04 AM · 1.1 ft
River Cove
Bay · 1.7 mi
66
Top: SpotPeak season
- Spot 66
- Red drum 64
- Scup 64
14 kt NEH 2:01 AM · 2.1 ftL 9:03 AM · 1.0 ft
Muddy Cove
Bay · 2.1 mi
66
Top: SpotPeak season
- Spot 66
- Scup 64
- Sheepshead 61
14 kt NEH 2:01 AM · 2.1 ftL 9:03 AM · 1.0 ft
Old Orchard Point
Cape · 1.0 mi
62
Top: Little tunnyPeak season
- Little tunny 62
- Spot 61
- Scup 59
14 kt NEH 1:58 AM · 2.3 ftL 9:04 AM · 1.1 ft