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SheepsheadPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 6411 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Gloucester Point 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
Monday, Sep 21 · 9 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
93Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt SWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
62Water temp: 82°F, warmLight: MorningSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
70Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Sheepshead 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 Sheepshead is best here
Peak season for Sheepshead · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Gloucester Point
- Depth
- 3-70 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
- Season
- Peak seasonSheepshead
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 Gloucester Point
Gloucester Point is a cape in York River, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 3-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for scup, spot, red drum and little tunny, and shoulder season for black sea bass, king mackerel, Atlantic croaker and tautog. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Cornwallis Cove72
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 72
- Scup 68
- Red drum 67
4 kt SSWH 2:24 PM · 2.7 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Point of Rocks69
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 69
- Sheepshead 69
- Spot 67
4 kt SSWH 2:26 PM · 2.6 ftL 9:17 PM · 0.9 ft
- Stony Point67
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 67
- Red drum 66
- Little tunny 64
4 kt SSWH 2:24 PM · 2.7 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Quarter Point67
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 67
- Red drum 66
- Little tunny 64
4 kt SSWH 2:24 PM · 2.7 ftL 9:06 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.