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Spotted seatroutShoulder seasonChannel · Virginia
North Channel
37.46°N · 75.75°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 · Spotted seatrout
- Now
- 306 AM EDT
- Best window
- 6 AM-12 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.1 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when North 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
70Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
19Wind: 17 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 72°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 3.3 ftSeason & habitat · Spotted seatrout
Species seasonality
76Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
North Channel
- Depth
- Under 1 ftFlat bottom
- 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 North Channel
North Channel is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is under 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 scup, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for scup, spot, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for weakfish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and striped bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Cunjer Channel58
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 58
- Summer flounder 50
- Sheepshead 47
17 kt NEL 12:54 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:13 PM · 5.2 ft
- Hog Island Bay58
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 58
- Summer flounder 49
- Bluefish 45
17 kt NEL 12:54 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:13 PM · 5.2 ft
- Great Machipongo Channel58
Channel · 1.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 58
- Summer flounder 52
- Sheepshead 47
17 kt NEL 12:54 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:13 PM · 5.2 ft
- Black Duck Cove58
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 58
- Summer flounder 41
- Bluefish 40
17 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.