Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Ridgleys Cove

39.27°N · 76.63°W · Bay · Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor

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Best score today · 12 AM · Weakfish

76/100Great
Now
648 AM EDT
Best window
8-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.2 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Sep 24 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score68Great
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SE
Wind7 kn NNEgusts 18 · steady
Air temp52°Cool
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water72°FBias corrected

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 yesterday

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

Ridgleys Cove

Depth
1-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Ridgleys Cove

Ridgleys Cove is a bay in Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor, Maryland. Depth is 1-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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 Atlantic croaker, bluefish, weakfish and spotted seatrout. 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

  • Smith Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    76
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 76
    • Little tunny 70
    • Sheepshead 70

    10 kt ENEL 11:21 AM · 0.7 ftH 4:20 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Winans Cove

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    73
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 73
    • Little tunny 67
    • Sheepshead 67

    13 kt ENEL 11:21 AM · 0.7 ftH 4:20 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Ferry Bar Channel

    Channel · 1.6 mi

    73
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 73
    • Sheepshead 68
    • Red drum 67

    13 kt ENEL 11:21 AM · 0.7 ftH 4:20 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Little tunny 66
    • Sheepshead 66

    13 kt ENEL 11:21 AM · 0.7 ftH 4:20 PM · 1.3 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.