Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Channel · Virginia

Cedar Straits

37.91°N · 75.89°W · Channel · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 2 AM · Atlantic croaker

79/100Great
Now
546 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.5 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: Sun · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score54Good
Tide0.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind14 kn NEgusts 29 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast34% chance of rain
Water73°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

Cedar Straits

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Cedar Straits

Cedar Straits is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

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, weakfish, Atlantic croaker 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 →
  • Cedar Straits

    Channel · 0.0 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 64
    • Sheepshead 62

    14 kt NEH 10:37 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:18 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Green Straits

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 64
    • Sheepshead 62

    14 kt NEH 10:37 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:18 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Green Straits

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 64
    • Sheepshead 62

    14 kt NEH 10:37 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:18 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Cedar Island Creek

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 63
    • Red drum 60

    14 kt NEH 10:37 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:18 AM · 0.3 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.