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Atlantic croakerShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 1 AM · Atlantic croaker
- Now
- 467 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Thomas Point 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: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
95Wind: 4 kt NNWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
84Water temp: 72°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Atlantic croaker
Species seasonality
35Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Atlantic croaker 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 Atlantic croaker is best here
Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Thomas Point
- Depth
- 3-110 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonAtlantic croaker
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 Thomas Point
Thomas Point is a cape in Patuxent River to Broomes Island MD, Maryland. Depth is 3-110 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and spot. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, spot and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for black sea bass, king mackerel, bluefish and spotted seatrout. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October.
Tackle & technique
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- 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.
- 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
- Point Patience60
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 60
- Little tunny 58
- Spot 58
13 kt NEH 12:23 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:44 AM · 0.7 ft
- Town Point60
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 60
- Little tunny 58
- Spot 58
13 kt NEH 12:23 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:44 AM · 0.7 ft
- Myrtle Point58
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 58
- Spot 58
- Spanish mackerel 55
13 kt NEH 12:23 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:44 AM · 0.7 ft
- Thorns Point58
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 58
- Spot 58
- Spanish mackerel 55
13 kt NEH 12:23 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:44 AM · 0.7 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.