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Spotted seatroutShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Spotted seatrout
- Now
- 372 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.6 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Penniman Spit 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 2 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
32Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
17Wind: 15 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
70Water temp: 79°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Spotted seatrout
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Spotted seatrout is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with VMRC before you keep a fish.
Source: VMRC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spotted seatrout is best here
Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Penniman Spit
- Depth
- 2-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonSpotted seatrout
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 Penniman Spit
Penniman Spit is a bar in York River, Virginia. Depth is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, Spanish mackerel and little tunny. It is peak season now for spot, Spanish mackerel, little tunny and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, spotted seatrout and Atlantic croaker. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Little tunny peak from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Spotted seatrout
- Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Poley Point48
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 48
- Little tunny 45
- Red drum 44
15 kt NEH 8:11 AM · 2.6 ftL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ft
- Green Point48
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 48
- Little tunny 44
- Red drum 44
15 kt NEH 8:11 AM · 2.6 ftL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ft
- Blundering Point48
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 48
- Little tunny 45
- Red drum 45
15 kt NEH 8:11 AM · 2.6 ftL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ft
- Powhatan Point48
Cape · 2.5 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 48
- Little tunny 45
- Red drum 44
15 kt NEH 8:11 AM · 2.6 ftL 2:06 PM · 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.
