Waterlands

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Black sea bassShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Trippe Bay

38.60°N · 76.29°W · Bay · Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River

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Best score today · 11 AM · Black sea bass

72/100Great
Now
566 AM EDT
Best window
11 AM-2 PMFlood 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 · 6 AM · now

Time6ANOW
Score56Good
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward SSW
Wind15 kn NEgusts 25 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.2 ft · 3 s
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherOvercast64% chance of rain
Water76°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black sea bass in Maryland

Spot profile

Trippe Bay

Depth
5-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonBlack sea bass

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 Trippe Bay

Trippe Bay is a bay in Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, Maryland. Depth is 5-15 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, little tunny and sheepshead. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Covey Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Spot 61
    • Bluefish 60

    15 kt NEL 8:54 AM · 1.0 ftH 2:04 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Covey Creek

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Red drum 64
    • Summer flounder 63

    15 kt NEL 8:54 AM · 1.0 ftH 2:04 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Cook Point Cove

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Little tunny 64
    • Sheepshead 63

    15 kt NEL 8:54 AM · 1.0 ftH 2:04 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Brannock Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Sheepshead 62
    • Little tunny 61

    15 kt NEL 8:54 AM · 1.0 ftH 2:04 PM · 1.7 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.