Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Wells Cove

38.87°N · 76.28°W · Bay · Eastern Bay

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Best score today · 1 AM · Weakfish

74/100Great
Now
535 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Oct 5 · 9 PM

Time9P
Score74Great
Tide0.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward NE
Wind4 kn NNEgusts 11 · building
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water71°FPersisted

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 today

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

Wells Cove

Depth
35-45 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-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 Wells Cove

Wells Cove is a bay in Eastern Bay, Maryland. Depth is 35-45 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

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.
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

  • Seth Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spot 58
    • Bluefish 57

    16 kt ENEL 7:52 PM · 0.8 ftH 2:29 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Parsons Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spot 58
    • Bluefish 57

    16 kt ENEL 8:57 PM · 0.8 ftH 3:25 AM · 2.0 ft

  • Wades Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spot 58
    • Bluefish 57

    16 kt ENEL 7:52 PM · 0.8 ftH 2:29 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Crab Alley Bay

    Bay · 3.3 mi

    63
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 63
    • Scup 62
    • Little tunny 61

    16 kt ENEL 8:57 PM · 0.8 ftH 3:25 AM · 2.0 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.