Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

King mackerelShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Green Point

37.30°N · 76.56°W · Cape · York River

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · King mackerel

75/100Great
Now
513 PM EDT
Best window
4-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.7 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Green Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score51Good
Tide2.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.0 kn · toward WNW
Wind5 kn ENEgusts 13 · steady
Air temp85°Hot
WeatherMostly cloudy96% chance of rain
Water81°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

Green Point

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Green Point

Green Point is a cape in York River, Virginia. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, red drum and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for spot, red drum, Spanish mackerel and little tunny, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, king mackerel, spotted seatrout and striped bass. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

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.
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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Powhatan Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Red drum 65
    • Spanish mackerel 61

    5 kt ENEH 3:51 PM · 2.8 ftL 10:35 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Blundering Point

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Red drum 65
    • Spanish mackerel 61

    5 kt ENEH 3:51 PM · 2.8 ftL 10:35 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Penniman Spit

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    67
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 67
    • Spot 67
    • Red drum 65

    5 kt ENEH 3:51 PM · 2.8 ftL 10:35 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Poley Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Red drum 65
    • Spanish mackerel 61

    5 kt ENEH 3:51 PM · 2.8 ftL 10:35 PM · 0.9 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.