UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SheepsheadOff seasonBay · Maryland
Old Road Bay
39.21°N · 76.45°W · Bay · Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 352 PM EST
- Best window
- 4-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High1.2 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Old Road 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
Sunday, Nov 8 · 4 PM
- —
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
- —
Wind & pressure
ECMWF
- —
Water temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
- —
Season & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Sheepshead 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 Sheepshead is best here
Out of season for Sheepshead · it leaves next week
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Old Road Bay
- Depth
- 6-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Off seasonSheepshead
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 Old Road Bay
Old Road Bay is a bay in Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor, Maryland. Depth is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, striped bass, tautog and bluefish, and shoulder season for scup, spot, weakfish and little tunny. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
- 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
- Penwood Channel68
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 68
- Spotted seatrout 65
- Spot 63
5 kt SEL 8:15 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:26 AM · 1.4 ft
- North Point66
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 66
- Scup 65
- Spotted seatrout 60
5 kt SEL 8:15 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:26 AM · 1.4 ft
- Sedgy Point66
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 66
- Scup 65
- Spotted seatrout 60
5 kt SEL 8:15 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:26 AM · 1.4 ft
- North Shoal65
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 65
- Bluefish 60
- Spotted seatrout 60
5 kt SEL 8:15 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:26 AM · 1.4 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.