UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
King mackerelShoulder seasonChannel · Virginia
Little Camp Channel
37.48°N · 75.72°W · Channel · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 468 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 AM-12 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Little Camp Channel 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
87Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
51Wind: 16 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
66Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.7 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
38Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for King mackerel 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 King mackerel is best here
Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Little Camp Channel
- Depth
- Up to 1 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonKing mackerel
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 Little Camp Channel
Little Camp Channel is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are summer flounder, scup and sheepshead. It is peak season now for summer flounder, scup, sheepshead and little tunny, and shoulder season for black sea bass, striped bass, bluefish and king mackerel. Summer flounder peak from June through September. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- King mackerel
- Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
- Summer flounder
- Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Cunjer Channel61
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 61
- Sheepshead 53
- Summer flounder 53
16 kt NEL 12:54 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:13 PM · 5.2 ft
- Black Duck Cove57
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 57
- Little tunny 55
- Summer flounder 55
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft
- Sandy Island Bay57
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 57
- Bluefish 55
- Little tunny 55
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft
- Bordenstake Bay57
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 57
- Little tunny 55
- Summer flounder 55
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 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.
