Waterlands

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BluefishShoulder season

Bay · Virginia

Brock Cove

36.89°N · 76.07°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 11 PM · Bluefish

61/100Good
Now
352 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Low0.8 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide0.8 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind20 kn NEgusts 34 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherOvercast98% chance of rain
Water77°FObserved

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 VMRC before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Bluefish is best here

Shoulder season for Bluefish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Bluefish in Virginia

Spot profile

Brock Cove

Depth
2-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder 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 Brock Cove

Brock Cove is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is 2-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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

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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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

  • Lynnhaven Bay

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35
    • Little tunny 35

    20 kt NEH 8:04 PM · 2.0 ftL 2:11 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Keeling Drain

    Gut · 0.8 mi

    35
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 35
    • Black drum 35
    • Black sea bass 35

    20 kt NEH 7:29 PM · 2.6 ftL 1:34 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Mapps Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35
    • King mackerel 35

    20 kt NEL 3:12 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:54 PM · 1.9 ft

  • Keeling Cove

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    35
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 35
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35

    20 kt NEL 3:17 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:41 PM · 2.0 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 VMRC before you keep a fish.