Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Weir Point

37.80°N · 75.72°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 7 PM · King mackerel

77/100Great
Now
515 AM EDT
Best window
4-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score51Good
Tide1.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward NNE
Wind6 kn NEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 2 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy20% cloud
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel 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 King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

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

King mackerel in Virginia

Spot profile

Weir Point

Depth
2-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonKing mackerel

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 Weir Point

Weir Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 2-8 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, red drum and little tunny. It is peak season now for spot, red drum, little tunny and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, spotted seatrout and striped bass. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • The Thorofare

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    76
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 76
    • Red drum 69
    • Atlantic croaker 67

    6 kt NEH 6:31 AM · 2.0 ftL 1:20 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Dix Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    75
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 75
    • Red drum 68
    • Sheepshead 65

    6 kt NEH 6:31 AM · 2.0 ftL 1:20 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Canoedas Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    73
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 73
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Scup 60

    6 kt NEH 6:06 AM · 1.7 ftL 12:32 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Red drum 64
    • Little tunny 63

    6 kt NEH 6:31 AM · 2.0 ftL 1:20 PM · 0.8 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.