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ScupPeak seasonBay · Virginia
Dix Cove
37.80°N · 75.71°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 1 AM · Spot
- Now
- 595 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-7 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Dix Cove 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, Oct 2 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
98Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Spot
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Scup is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with VMRC before you keep a fish.
Source: VMRC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Scup is best here
Peak season for Scup · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Dix Cove
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonScup
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 Dix Cove
Dix Cove is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, Spanish mackerel and spot. It is peak season now for scup, Spanish mackerel, spot and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, weakfish, Atlantic croaker and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Spot peak from August through October.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
- 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
- Real Point60
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 60
- Red drum 59
- Scup 56
17 kt NEH 9:47 PM · 2.3 ftL 4:17 AM · 1.0 ft
- The Thorofare60
Channel · 1.6 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 60
- Spot 57
- Summer flounder 57
17 kt NEH 10:12 PM · 2.6 ftL 5:05 AM · 0.7 ft
- Weir Point57
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 57
- Scup 54
- Spanish mackerel 52
17 kt NEH 10:12 PM · 2.6 ftL 5:05 AM · 0.7 ft
- Sandy Point57
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 57
- Scup 54
- Spanish mackerel 52
17 kt NEH 10:12 PM · 2.6 ftL 5:05 AM · 0.7 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.