Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Cotter Cove

38.16°N · 75.27°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Fenwick Island DE to Chincoteague VA out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Weakfish

54/100Good
Now
3012 AM EDT
Best window
7-9 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 AM · now

Time12ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide0.8 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward S
Wind17 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateRough5.2 ft · 7 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast73% chance of rain
Water72°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Weakfish in Maryland

Spot profile

Cotter Cove

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Outer · 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 Cotter Cove

Cotter Cove is a bay in Coastal waters from Fenwick Island DE to Chincoteague VA out 20 NM, Maryland. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and bluefish. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and yellowfin tuna, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and king mackerel. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

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.
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

  • Windmill Cove

    Bay · 2.7 mi

    56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Little tunny 50
    • Bluefish 49

    17 kt NEL 5:24 AM · 0.5 ftH 10:21 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Windmill Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Little tunny 53
    • Bluefish 49

    17 kt NEL 5:24 AM · 0.5 ftH 10:21 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Turpin Cove

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    53
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 53
    • Little tunny 52
    • Bluefish 51

    17 kt NEL 4:50 AM · 0.5 ftH 10:04 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Chincoteague Bay

    Bay · 3.2 mi

    53
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 53
    • Scup 52
    • Bluefish 51

    15 kt NEL 4:50 AM · 0.5 ftH 10:04 AM · 0.8 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.