FISHING REGULATIONS OCEAN CITY MARYLAND
ATLANTIC AND COASTAL BAYS OCEAN CITY MARYLAND

Note: A fishing license is not needed to fish Maryland's Coastal Bays or the Atlantic.
(However, a Chesapeake Bay Sport Fishing license is necessary to fish the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.)

This is an abridged version of the regulations and does not include all regulated species. May not include Emergency Amendments, Quota Closures/Modifications or Proposed Amendments. Under State Govt. Article, Section 7-217, Annotated Code of Maryland, the printed version of COMAR is the official and enforceable text. Only the official text may be judicially noticed under Courts and Judicial Proceedings, Section 10-203, Annotated Code of Maryland. Consult the Maryland Register, Code of Maryland Regulations and Natural Resources Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland for full legal text.

Summary of Maryland Coastal Bays Recreational Fisheries Regulations
Species
Minimum Size
Season, Days, Times,
Creel Limits
Special Conditions/Comments
Black Drum 16" Open year round 1/person/day  
Black Sea Bass 12" Jan 1 thru Sep 1 and Sep 16 thru Nov 30 25/person/day Closed Sep 2 thru Sep 15 and month of December
Bluefish 8" Open year round 10/person/day  
Croaker (Hardhead) 9" Open year round 25/person/day  
Red Drum (Channel Bass) 18" - 27" Open year round 1/person/day  
Striped Bass (Rockfish) 28" Open year round 2/person/day  
Scup (Porgy) 8" Open year round 50/person/day  
Sharks Fisherman are prohibited from possessing white, dusky, sand tiger, bigeye sand tiger, whale, basking bignose, Galapagos, Night, Caribbean reef, narrowtooth, Caribbean sharpnose, smalltail, Atlantic angel, longfin mako, bigeye thresher, sevengill, sixgill and bigeye sixgill. Except for those sharks that are prohibited, recreational fisherman are allowed to possess one shark per vessel per trip with a minimum size of 54-inches and one Atlantic sharpnose shark per person per trip with no minimum size.
Spotted Seatrout 14" Open year round 10/person/day  
Summer Flounder 17"

Open Year Round

 8/person/day  
Tautog 14" Jan 1 thru Nov 30 5/person/day Closed month of December  

Weakfish

 13" Open year round

 8 fish/person/day  

Click Here for a Summary of Maryland Coastal Bays Recreational Crabbing Regulations.