UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
TautogShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 1 AM · Tautog
- Now
- 412 PM EDT
- Best window
- 2-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cox Creek 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
Tuesday, Sep 29 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 5 kt NWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
54Water temp: 69°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Tautog
Species seasonality
60Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here
Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cox Creek
- Depth
- Up to 7 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonTautog
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 Cox Creek
Cox Creek is a bay in Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor, Maryland. Depth in the nearest water is up to 7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for scup, spot, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, Atlantic croaker and spotted seatrout. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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
- Brewerton Angle66
Bend · 2.0 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 66
- Scup 65
- Sheepshead 61
14 kt ENEH 4:23 PM · 1.4 ftL 10:26 PM · 0.7 ft
- Hawkins Point63
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 63
- Spot 60
- Scup 59
14 kt ENEH 4:23 PM · 1.4 ftL 10:26 PM · 0.7 ft
- Goose Neck61
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 61
- Scup 59
- Spot 59
14 kt ENEH 4:26 PM · 1.3 ftL 10:15 PM · 0.6 ft
- Stony Point61
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 61
- Scup 57
- Spot 57
14 kt ENEH 4:26 PM · 1.3 ftL 10:15 PM · 0.6 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.