Waterlands

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Spotted seatroutShoulder season

Bar · Virginia

Goffs Bar

37.81°N · 76.27°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · Spotted seatrout

74/100Great
Now
497 PM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score49Good
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward NW
Wind12 kn NEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp68°Warm
WeatherOvercast76% chance of rain
Water78°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Spotted seatrout 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 Spotted seatrout is best here

Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Spotted seatrout in Virginia

Spot profile

Goffs Bar

Depth
10-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSpotted seatrout

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 Goffs Bar

Goffs Bar is a bar in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 10-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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.
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

  • Taskmakers Creek

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Scup 66
    • Red drum 65

    12 kt NEH 10:04 PM · 1.2 ftL 4:32 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Ingram Bay

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Spanish mackerel 67
    • Scup 65

    12 kt NEH 10:04 PM · 1.2 ftL 4:29 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Fleeton Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Spot 65
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    12 kt NEH 10:04 PM · 1.2 ftL 4:32 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Cockrell Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Spot 65
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    12 kt NEH 10:04 PM · 1.2 ftL 4:32 AM · 0.3 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.