Waterlands

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SheepsheadPeak season

Bay · Virginia

Grace Point

37.69°N · 76.35°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 6 PM · Sheepshead

81/100Great
Now
639 AM EDT
Best window
4-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score63Good
Tide0.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward E
Wind5 kn NWgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy23% cloud
Water80°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

Grace Point

Depth
Up to 15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Grace Point

Grace Point is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is up to 15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, little tunny and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, red drum and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, cobia, striped bass and spotted seatrout. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.

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

  • Arthur Cove

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    75
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 75
    • Spot 75
    • Spanish mackerel 74

    5 kt NWL 10:46 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:01 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Waverly Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    75
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 75
    • Red drum 73
    • Spanish mackerel 73

    5 kt NWL 10:46 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:01 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Pitman Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Spot 74
    • Spanish mackerel 72

    5 kt NWL 10:46 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:01 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Bluff Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Little tunny 69
    • Red drum 68

    5 kt NWL 10:46 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:01 PM · 1.5 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.