Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

SheepsheadPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Coffin Point

37.71°N · 75.85°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Sheepshead

75/100Great
Now
607 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.8 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Coffin Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score60Good
Tide1.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward NNE
Wind11 kn ENEgusts 20 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy75% cloud
Water79°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sheepshead 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 Sheepshead is best here

Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak

Sheepshead season by week of the year. Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Sheepshead in Virginia

Spot profile

Coffin Point

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSheepshead

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 Coffin Point

Coffin Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, little tunny and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, black sea bass and king mackerel. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Thicket Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spanish mackerel 64

    11 kt ENEH 8:28 PM · 2.0 ftL 3:10 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Indian Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spanish mackerel 64

    11 kt ENEH 8:28 PM · 2.0 ftL 3:10 AM · 0.8 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spanish mackerel 64

    11 kt ENEH 8:28 PM · 2.0 ftL 3:10 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Ware Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spanish mackerel 64

    11 kt ENEH 8:28 PM · 2.0 ftL 3:10 AM · 0.8 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.