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ScupShoulder seasonGut · Virginia
Keeling Drain
36.89°N · 76.08°W · Gut · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Spotted seatrout
- Now
- 733 PM EST
- Best window
- 5-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High2.6 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Keeling Drain scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Friday, Nov 13 · 3 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.1 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
83Wind: 5 kt SSEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
98Water temp: 63°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Spotted seatrout
Species seasonality
95Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Scup is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with VMRC before you keep a fish.
Source: VMRC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Scup is best here
Shoulder season for Scup · 2 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Keeling Drain
- Depth
- 3-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonScup
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 Keeling Drain
Keeling Drain is a gut in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are scup, spotted seatrout and spot. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, striped bass, black sea bass and tautog, and shoulder season for scup, spot, weakfish and red drum. Scup peak from June through October. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November. Spot peak from August through October.
Tackle & technique
- Scup
- Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Keeling Cove83
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 83
- Striped bass 74
- Scup 73
5 kt ENEH 4:10 PM · 1.9 ftL 11:39 PM · 0.4 ft
- Mapps Point81
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 81
- Spotted seatrout 75
- Tautog 73
5 kt ENEH 4:23 PM · 1.9 ftL 11:34 PM · 0.4 ft
- Lynnhaven Bay73
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 73
- Spotted seatrout 72
- Striped bass 69
5 kt ENEL 10:06 PM · 0.5 ftH 4:18 AM · 1.8 ft
- Brock Cove73
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 73
- Spotted seatrout 72
- Striped bass 69
5 kt ENEL 10:06 PM · 0.5 ftH 4:18 AM · 1.8 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.