Waterlands

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BluefishPeak season

Cape · Maryland

Indian Queen Point

38.75°N · 77.03°W · Cape · Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD

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Best score today · 5 PM · Bluefish

84/100Great
Now
684 PM EST
Best window
4-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Nov 4 · 8 PM

Time8P
Score72Great
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward S
Wind6 kn SEgusts 10 · steady
Air temp61°Mild
WeatherClear4% cloud
Water61°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here

Peak season for Bluefish · 2 more weeks at peak

Bluefish season by week of the year. Peak season for Bluefish · 2 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Bluefish in Maryland →

Spot profile

Indian Queen Point

Depth
3-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonBluefish

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 Indian Queen Point

Indian Queen Point is a cape in Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD, Maryland. Depth is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are striped bass, spotted seatrout and tautog. It is peak season now for striped bass, spotted seatrout, tautog and black sea bass, and shoulder season for little tunny, scup, weakfish and red drum. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November. Tautog peak in April and from October through December.

Tackle & technique

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.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Chapmans Point

    Cape · 5.3 mi

    84
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 84
    • Spotted seatrout 77
    • Bluefish 71

    4 kt SL 8:02 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:32 AM · 2.3 ft

  • Stump Neck

    Cape · 18 mi

    84
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 84
    • Spotted seatrout 78
    • Bluefish 73

    3 kt SL 6:53 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:30 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Sheridan Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    82
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 82
    • Spotted seatrout 75
    • Tautog 71

    4 kt SL 8:02 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:32 AM · 2.3 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.