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Black sea bassShoulder seasonBay · Virginia
Swash Bay
37.55°N · 75.67°W · Bay · 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 · Black sea bass
- Now
- 437 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Swash Bay 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
62Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
51Wind: 16 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
55Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.7 ftSeason & habitat · Black sea bass
Species seasonality
53Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here
Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Swash Bay
- Depth
- About 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonBlack sea bass
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 Swash Bay
Swash Bay is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is about 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and bluefish. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, summer flounder and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and king mackerel. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Green Channel68
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 68
- Spot 68
- Red drum 60
16 kt NEL 12:29 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:00 PM · 4.5 ft
- Clark Bay68
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 68
- Spot 66
- Red drum 59
16 kt NEL 12:29 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:00 PM · 4.5 ft
- Bulls Head63
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 63
- Scup 63
- Spot 61
16 kt NEL 12:29 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:00 PM · 4.5 ft
- Drawing Channel61
Channel · 0.8 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 61
- Summer flounder 51
- Little tunny 50
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.
