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SpotShoulder seasonBar · Virginia
Bernard Flats
37.87°N · 75.70°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 4 PM · Spot
- Now
- 596 AM EST
- Best window
- 2-6 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- High2.3 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bernard Flats 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
Friday, Nov 13 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
90Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 5 kt SPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
76Water temp: 63°F, coolLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Spot
Species seasonality
24Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Spot 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 Spot is best here
Last week of shoulder season for Spot · the off season next
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Bernard Flats
- Depth
- 3-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Flat · Inner · Semi-exposedFlat · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonSpot
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 Bernard Flats
Bernard Flats is a bar in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 3-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads flat, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are scup, spotted seatrout and striped bass. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, striped bass, bluefish and tautog, and shoulder season for scup, weakfish, spot and red drum. Scup peak from June through October. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Beasley Bay74
Bay · 0.3 mi
Top: ScupShoulder season- Scup 74
- Striped bass 66
- Tautog 65
4 kt NEL 12:42 PM · 0.4 ftH 6:24 PM · 2.6 ft
- Ebb Point69
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 69
- Scup 68
- Tautog 61
4 kt NEL 12:42 PM · 0.4 ftH 6:24 PM · 2.6 ft
- Sandy Point69
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 69
- Scup 68
- Tautog 61
4 kt NEL 12:42 PM · 0.4 ftH 6:24 PM · 2.6 ft
- Flood Point69
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Striped bassPeak season- Striped bass 69
- Scup 68
- Tautog 61
4 kt NEL 12:42 PM · 0.4 ftH 6:24 PM · 2.6 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.