Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Johns Point

37.56°N · 75.93°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · Atlantic croaker

71/100Great
Now
353 PM EDT
Best window
3-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide0.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward S
Wind20 kn ENEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast63% chance of rain
Water76°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

Johns Point

Depth
1-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Johns Point

Johns Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, scup and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, Spanish mackerel and spot, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, king mackerel and striped bass. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October. Spanish mackerel 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.
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.
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

  • Scarborough Gut

    Gut · 0.7 mi

    56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Spot 54
    • Summer flounder 53

    20 kt ENEH 8:32 PM · 1.8 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Killmon Cove

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    55
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 55
    • Spot 51
    • Spanish mackerel 50

    20 kt ENEH 8:32 PM · 1.8 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Gaskins Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    53
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 53
    • Scup 51
    • Spanish mackerel 48

    20 kt ENEH 8:32 PM · 1.8 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Powells Bluff

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    53
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 53
    • Scup 51
    • Spot 48

    20 kt ENEH 8:32 PM · 1.8 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.3 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.