Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelPeak season

Bar · Virginia

Wolf Trap

37.40°N · 76.19°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA

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Best score today · 9 AM · Spanish mackerel

75/100Great
Now
723 PM EDT
Best window
3-4 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.0 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
Score72Great
Tide1.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.7 kn · toward S
Wind10 kn ENEgusts 20 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.3 ft · 3 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% chance of rain
Water79°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Spanish 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 Spanish mackerel is best here

Peak season for Spanish mackerel · 1 more week at peak

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

Spanish mackerel in Virginia

Spot profile

Wolf Trap

Depth
20-25 ftSlope
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · slope
Season
Peak seasonSpanish 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 Wolf Trap

Wolf Trap is a bar in Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, Virginia. Depth is 20-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
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.
Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Horn Harbor

    Bay · 5.3 mi

    79
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 79
    • Spanish mackerel 76
    • Sheepshead 74

    10 kt ENEH 6:41 PM · 2.7 ftL 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Winter Harbor

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    74
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 74
    • Sheepshead 69
    • Red drum 68

    10 kt ENEH 6:56 PM · 1.9 ftL 1:48 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Mill Point

    Cape · 5.3 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Spot 70
    • Spanish mackerel 69

    10 kt ENEH 6:41 PM · 2.7 ftL 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Sage Point

    Cape · 6.3 mi

    55
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 55
    • Spot 53
    • Spanish mackerel 51

    10 kt ENEH 8:34 PM · 1.4 ftL 3:20 AM · 0.6 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.