Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Spotted seatroutShoulder season

Channel · 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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Spotted seatrout

61/100Good
Now
309 AM EDT
Best window
9 AM-12 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.4 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.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide2.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind16 kn NEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateRough4.7 ft · 7 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast43% chance of rain
Water70°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Spotted seatrout 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 Spotted seatrout is best here

Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Spotted seatrout in Virginia

Spot profile

Little Camp Channel

Depth
Up to 1 ftNearest water
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSpotted seatrout

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 sheepshead, summer flounder and black sea bass. It is peak season now for sheepshead, summer flounder, little tunny and scup, and shoulder season for black sea bass, striped bass, bluefish and king mackerel. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Summer flounder peak from June through September. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
Sheepshead
Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cunjer Channel

    Channel · 1.4 mi

    58
    Top: SheepsheadPeak season
    • Sheepshead 58
    • Summer flounder 58
    • Black sea bass 56

    16 kt NEL 12:54 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:13 PM · 5.2 ft

  • Sandy Island Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    56
    Top: Summer flounderPeak season
    • Summer flounder 56
    • Bluefish 55
    • Little tunny 55

    16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Bordenstake Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    56
    Top: Summer flounderPeak season
    • Summer flounder 56
    • Little tunny 55
    • Bluefish 54

    16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft

  • Black Duck Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    55
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 55
    • Summer flounder 55
    • Bluefish 54

    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.