Waterlands

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Little tunnyPeak season

Bay · Virginia

Goose Harbor

37.86°N · 76.00°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 9 AM · Little tunny

77/100Great
Now
4911 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 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: Thu · 86

24-hour conditions

Friday, Sep 25 · 12 AM

Time12A
Score56Good
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward N
Wind13 kn NNEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water74°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Virginia →

Spot profile

Goose Harbor

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonLittle tunny

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 Goose Harbor

Goose Harbor is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and sheepshead. It is peak season now for spot, scup, sheepshead and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and striped bass. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Fishing Gut

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    62
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 62
    • Scup 60
    • Red drum 54

    16 kt NEL 4:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 10:15 AM · 1.4 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    56
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 56
    • Scup 55
    • Little tunny 54

    16 kt NEL 4:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 10:15 AM · 1.4 ft

  • East Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Spot 56
    • Little tunny 55

    16 kt NEL 4:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 10:15 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Rum Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    55
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 55
    • Scup 53
    • Bluefish 51

    16 kt NEL 4:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 10:15 AM · 1.4 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.