Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Spence Cove

38.23°N · 75.20°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Fenwick Island DE to Chincoteague VA out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Cobia

55/100Good
Now
307 AM EDT
Best window
7-10 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward S
Wind16 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateRough5.4 ft · 8 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast70% chance of rain
Water71°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

Spence Cove

Depth
Up to 5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Outer · 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 Spence Cove

Spence Cove is a bay in Coastal waters from Fenwick Island DE to Chincoteague VA out 20 NM, Maryland. Depth is up to 5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are bluefish, striped bass and king mackerel. It is peak season now for yellowfin tuna, mahi-mahi, little tunny and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, king mackerel and black sea bass. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December.

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.
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.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Greys Inlet

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    55
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 55
    • Striped bass 53
    • King mackerel 49

    16 kt NEH 10:21 AM · 0.8 ftL 4:48 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Knot Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    53
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 53
    • Striped bass 52
    • King mackerel 50

    16 kt NEH 10:21 AM · 0.8 ftL 4:48 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Newport Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    53
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 53
    • Striped bass 51
    • King mackerel 50

    16 kt NEH 10:21 AM · 0.8 ftL 4:48 PM · 0.4 ft

  • South Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    53
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 53
    • Striped bass 52
    • King mackerel 50

    16 kt NEH 10:21 AM · 0.8 ftL 4:48 PM · 0.4 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.