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Spotted seatroutShoulder seasonBar · Virginia
Goffs Bar
37.81°N · 76.27°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Spotted seatrout
- 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
Notify me when Goffs Bar 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 7 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
81Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
38Wind: 12 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
65Water temp: 78°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.5 ftSeason & habitat · Spotted seatrout
Species seasonality
54Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: VMRC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spotted seatrout is best here
Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
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 Creek70
Bay · 1.3 mi
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 Bay70
Bay · 1.4 mi
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 Point67
Cape · 0.9 mi
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 Point67
Cape · 1.6 mi
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.
