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ScupShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 4 PM · Spotted seatrout
- Now
- 7012 PM EST
- Best window
- 3-6 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High1.4 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Prospect Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Monday, Nov 16 · 1 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.9 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 11 kt NPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
76Water temp: 59°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Scup 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 Scup is best here
Shoulder season for Scup · 2 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Prospect Bay
- Depth
- 5-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonScup
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 Prospect Bay
Prospect Bay is a bay in Eastern Bay, Maryland. Depth is 5-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and tautog. It is peak season now for tautog, spotted seatrout, striped bass and black sea bass, and shoulder season for scup, spot, weakfish and little tunny. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Tautog peak in April and from October through December.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Tautog
- Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Cabin Creek70
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 70
- Spot 62
- Spotted seatrout 60
8 kt SL 6:48 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:44 AM · 1.6 ft
- Narrow Point65
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 65
- Striped bass 60
- Tautog 57
8 kt SL 6:48 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:44 AM · 1.6 ft
- Brian Point65
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 65
- Striped bass 60
- Tautog 57
8 kt SL 6:48 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:44 AM · 1.6 ft
- Bluff Point65
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 65
- Striped bass 60
- Tautog 57
8 kt SL 6:48 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:44 AM · 1.6 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.