Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Bay · Virginia

Desert Cove

36.92°N · 76.17°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from New Point Comfort to Little Creek VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · King mackerel

68/100Great
Now
387 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High3.0 ft

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score38Fair
Tide3.0 ftHigh
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward W
Wind14 kn NEgusts 29 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.8 ft · 5 s
Air temp68°Warm
WeatherOvercast53% chance of rain
Water77°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Always check with VMRC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: VMRC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

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

King mackerel in Virginia →

Spot profile

Desert Cove

Depth
8-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Desert Cove

Desert Cove is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from New Point Comfort to Little Creek VA, Virginia. Depth is 8-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for scup, spot, Spanish mackerel and little tunny, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, black sea bass and weakfish. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August.

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.
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

View all on map →
  • Little Creek Channel

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Scup 60
    • Atlantic croaker 55

    14 kt NEL 1:05 AM · 0.7 ftH 7:18 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Little Creek Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Scup 60
    • Atlantic croaker 52

    14 kt NEL 1:05 AM · 0.7 ftH 7:18 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Fishermans Cove

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Scup 60
    • Atlantic croaker 52

    14 kt NEL 1:05 AM · 0.7 ftH 7:18 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Thoroughgood Cove

    Bay · 3.7 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35
    • King mackerel 35

    23 kt NEH 8:41 PM · 2.0 ftL 3:44 AM · 0.5 ft

Open in the tide map

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.