Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

WeakfishShoulder season

Cape · Maryland

Sotterley Point

38.38°N · 76.53°W · Cape · Patuxent River to Broomes Island MD

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 2 AM · Weakfish

70/100Great
Now
3712 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Sotterley Point 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 · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score37Fair
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind9 kn NEgusts 18 · steady
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy78% cloud
Water80°FObserved

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 today

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

Sotterley Point

Depth
1-30 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · slope
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 Sotterley Point

Sotterley Point is a cape in Patuxent River to Broomes Island MD, Maryland. Depth in the nearest water is 1-30 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, little tunny and scup. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, scup and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, striped bass and spotted seatrout. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October.

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

  • Turner Cove

    Bay · 2.7 mi

    74
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 74
    • Scup 64
    • Spanish mackerel 64

    7 kt NEL 5:03 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:41 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Thomas Point

    Cape · 4.2 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Scup 67
    • Little tunny 62

    7 kt NEL 5:03 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:41 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Myrtle Point

    Cape · 4.4 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Little tunny 62
    • Spanish mackerel 60

    7 kt NEL 5:03 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:41 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Captain Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Little tunny 56
    • Scup 56

    9 kt NEL 4:49 PM · 1.0 ftH 12:00 AM · 2.1 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.