Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · Maryland

Sheridan Point

38.71°N · 77.05°W · Cape · Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD

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Best score today · 9 AM · Striped bass

77/100Great
Now
527 PM EDT
Best window
7-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score52Good
Tide2.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind9 kn NEgusts 19 · steady
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast98% chance of rain
Water77°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Striped bass 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 Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder

Striped bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Striped bass in Maryland

Spot profile

Sheridan Point

Depth
2-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped bass

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 Sheridan Point

Sheridan Point is a cape in Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD, Maryland. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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 Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, spotted seatrout and striped bass. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • Stump Neck

    Cape · 15 mi

    76
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 76
    • Spot 72
    • Spanish mackerel 68

    9 kt NEL 10:28 PM · 0.5 ftH 5:28 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Chapmans Point

    Cape · 2.2 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Little tunny 67
    • Scup 66

    9 kt NEL 11:37 PM · 0.7 ftH 6:30 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Indian Queen Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Scup 64
    • Little tunny 63

    9 kt NEL 12:21 AM · 1.0 ftH 6:38 AM · 3.0 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.