Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Young Point

37.55°N · 75.85°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · King mackerel

72/100Great
Now
506 PM EDT
Best window
6-7 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score50Good
Tide1.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind18 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.2 ft · 3 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherOvercast44% chance of rain
Water75°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

Young Point

Depth
2-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Young Point

Young Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, Virginia. Depth is 2-6 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 spot. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and king mackerel. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August 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.
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

  • Shields Cove

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Spot 67
    • Sheepshead 64

    18 kt NEH 8:32 PM · 1.8 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Fisher Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 61
    • Spot 59

    18 kt NEH 8:32 PM · 1.8 ftL 3:19 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Scarborough Gut

    Gut · 3.3 mi

    57
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 57
    • Bluefish 50
    • Striped bass 48

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

  • Gaskins Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    55
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 55
    • Black sea bass 52
    • Striped bass 50

    21 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.