Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

North End Point

37.94°N · 75.71°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · Atlantic croaker

78/100Great
Now
5411 AM EDT
Best window
5-10 PMHigh slack
Tide now
Ebbing1.2 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score54Good
Tide1.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward S
Wind6 kn ENEgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 2 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy46% cloud
Water78°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic croaker 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 Atlantic croaker is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Atlantic croaker in Virginia

Spot profile

North End Point

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic croaker

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 North End Point

North End Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
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

  • Robin Hood Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Red drum 67
    • Sheepshead 62

    6 kt ENEL 1:10 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:17 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Pig Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Little tunny 65
    • Sheepshead 62

    6 kt ENEL 1:10 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:17 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Persimmon Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Spot 64
    • Sheepshead 61

    6 kt ENEL 1:49 PM · 1.0 ftH 7:37 PM · 2.6 ft

  • North Point

    Cape · 2.6 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Spot 62
    • Sheepshead 58

    6 kt ENEL 1:09 PM · 1.2 ftH 6:57 PM · 2.5 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.