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Black sea bassShoulder season

Gut · Virginia

Boggs Gut

37.62°N · 75.85°W · Gut · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 10 AM · Black sea bass

68/100Great
Now
5712 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score57Good
Tide1.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind17 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 4 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast95% chance of rain
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

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

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black sea bass in Virginia

Spot profile

Boggs Gut

Depth
Up to 2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 Boggs Gut

Boggs Gut is a gut in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is up to 2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, sheepshead and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, sheepshead, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for black sea bass, striped bass, weakfish and Atlantic croaker. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Buckland Gut

    Gut · 3.5 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Sheepshead 64
    • Black sea bass 62

    17 kt NEL 4:02 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:00 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Bluff Point

    Cape · 3.4 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Bluefish 57
    • Sheepshead 57

    17 kt NEL 4:02 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:00 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Milbys Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Bluefish 57
    • Striped bass 56

    17 kt NEL 4:02 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:00 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Monadox Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    51
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 51
    • Striped bass 51
    • Black sea bass 47

    22 kt NEL 4:02 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:00 PM · 2.1 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.