Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Maryland

Johnson Cove

38.11°N · 76.05°W · Bay · Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth Island

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Cobia

70/100Great
Now
346 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.4 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score34Fair
Tide0.4 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind15 kn NEgusts 30 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Cobia 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 · Sync unavailable, last verified Sep 13, 2026

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Cobia in Maryland

Spot profile

Johnson Cove

Depth
2-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonCobia

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 Johnson Cove

Johnson Cove is a bay in Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth Island, Maryland. Depth is 2-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are bluefish, striped bass and black sea bass. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and Atlantic croaker. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Cobia
Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Holland Straits

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    47
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 47
    • Striped bass 44
    • Bluefish 40

    13 kt NEH 12:05 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:26 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Johnson Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    46
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 46
    • Striped bass 46
    • Black sea bass 41

    15 kt NEH 12:05 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:26 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Pungers Creek

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    46
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 46
    • Black sea bass 42
    • Striped bass 40

    15 kt NEH 12:05 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:26 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Pry Cove

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    46
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 46
    • Striped bass 43
    • Black sea bass 42

    15 kt NEH 12:05 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:26 AM · 0.4 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.