Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Gut · Virginia

Brewer Gut

37.84°N · 75.68°W · Gut · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 1 AM · Atlantic croaker

78/100Great
Now
454 PM EDT
Best window
6-7 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.7 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: Tue · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score45Good
Tide0.7 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind16 kn ENEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherOvercast53% chance of rain
Water76°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic croaker 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 Atlantic croaker is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Atlantic croaker in Virginia →

Spot profile

Brewer Gut

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic croaker

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 Brewer Gut

Brewer Gut is a gut in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and sheepshead. It is peak season now for scup, spot, sheepshead and summer flounder, and shoulder season for black sea bass, Atlantic croaker, weakfish and bluefish. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
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 →
  • Poulson Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    54
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 54
    • Spot 51
    • Scup 49

    16 kt ENEL 4:30 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:20 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Graven Point

    Cape · 0.0 mi

    53
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 53
    • Scup 48
    • Spot 48

    16 kt ENEL 4:30 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:20 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Annis Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    53
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 53
    • Scup 48
    • Spot 48

    16 kt ENEL 4:30 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:20 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    53
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 53
    • Scup 48
    • Spot 47

    16 kt ENEH 10:12 PM · 2.6 ftL 5:05 AM · 0.7 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.