Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Striped bassShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Wells Cove

38.87°N · 76.28°W · Bay · Eastern Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 1 AM · Striped bass

74/100Great
Now
392 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
High1.3 ft

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

Notify me when Wells Cove scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score39Fair
Tide1.3 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind14 kn ENEgusts 25 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast92% chance of rain
Water75°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Striped 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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Striped bass in Maryland

Spot profile

Wells Cove

Depth
35-45 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped 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 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 scup, spot and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, weakfish and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Crab Alley Bay

    Bay · 3.3 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 70
    • Spanish mackerel 61

    14 kt ENEH 2:53 PM · 1.4 ftL 8:57 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Seth Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 63
    • Little tunny 56

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

  • Parsons Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 63
    • Little tunny 59

    14 kt ENEH 2:53 PM · 1.4 ftL 8:57 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Wades Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    63
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 63
    • Spot 62
    • Little tunny 56

    14 kt ENEL 7:52 PM · 0.8 ftH 2:29 AM · 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.