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ScupPeak seasonBay · Virginia
Horn Harbor
37.36°N · 76.28°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 10 AM · Scup
- Now
- 352 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Horn Harbor 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
68Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.9 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
29Gusts over the limit · capped at 35Wind: 16 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
46Water temp: 78°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 3.0 ftSeason & habitat · Scup
Species seasonality
95Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Scup 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 Scup is best here
Peak season for Scup · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Horn Harbor
- Depth
- 4-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonScup
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 Horn Harbor
Horn Harbor is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, Virginia. Depth is 4-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for king mackerel, black sea bass, bluefish and striped bass. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- Black sea bass
- Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Winter Harbor54
Bay · 2.1 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 54
- Spanish mackerel 52
- Red drum 51
13 kt NEH 7:38 PM · 1.9 ftL 2:27 AM · 0.5 ft
- Deep Creek47
Channel · 3.6 mi
Top: Black sea bassShoulder season- Black sea bass 47
- King mackerel 40
- Bluefish 38
16 kt NEH 7:23 PM · 2.8 ftL 1:57 AM · 0.5 ft
- Mill Point46
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 46
- King mackerel 44
- Striped bass 44
16 kt NEH 7:23 PM · 2.8 ftL 1:57 AM · 0.5 ft
- New Point Comfort43
Cape · 4.0 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 43
- Black sea bass 42
- King mackerel 40
16 kt NEH 7:23 PM · 2.8 ftL 1:57 AM · 0.5 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.