Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Channel · Maryland

Curtis Bay Channel

39.22°N · 76.55°W · Channel · Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor

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Best score today · 1 AM · Striped bass

74/100Great
Now
482 PM EDT
Best window
2-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.1 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score48Good
Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind14 kn ENEgusts 28 · steady
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% 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.

Always check with Maryland DNR ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Curtis Bay Channel

Depth
15-50 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
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 Curtis Bay Channel

Curtis Bay Channel is a channel in Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor, Maryland. Depth is 15-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and sheepshead. It is peak season now for spot, scup, sheepshead and summer flounder, and shoulder season for black sea bass, weakfish, Atlantic croaker and spotted seatrout. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Thoms Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Spot 65
    • Sheepshead 60

    14 kt ENEH 4:23 PM · 1.4 ftL 10:26 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Curtis Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    65
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 65
    • Spot 65
    • Sheepshead 60

    14 kt ENEH 4:23 PM · 1.4 ftL 10:26 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Leading Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Spot 60
    • Scup 59

    14 kt ENEH 4:23 PM · 1.4 ftL 10:26 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Fishing Point Shoal

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    60
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 60
    • Spot 60
    • Scup 59

    14 kt ENEH 4:23 PM · 1.4 ftL 10:26 PM · 0.7 ft

Open in the tide map

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.