Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak season

Channel · Virginia

Ramshorn Channel

37.34°N · 75.89°W · Channel · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

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Best score today · 10 AM · Summer flounder

53/100Good
Now
351 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward S
Wind20 kn NEgusts 31 · steady
Sea stateRough4.4 ft · 6 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast94% chance of rain
Water77°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here

Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak

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

Summer flounder in Virginia

Spot profile

Ramshorn Channel

Depth
Under 1 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSummer flounder

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 Ramshorn Channel

Ramshorn Channel is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is under 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, little tunny and scup. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for black sea bass, bluefish, king mackerel and striped bass. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Crow Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    41
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 41
    • King mackerel 38
    • Black sea bass 36

    20 kt NEH 7:04 PM · 5.3 ftL 12:58 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Ramshorn Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    40
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 40
    • Black sea bass 38
    • Atlantic croaker 35

    20 kt NEH 7:04 PM · 5.3 ftL 12:58 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Holt Neck

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    40
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 40
    • Black sea bass 38
    • King mackerel 35

    20 kt NEH 7:04 PM · 5.3 ftL 12:58 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Shallow Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    30
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 30
    • Black drum 30
    • Black sea bass 30

    32 kt NEH 6:36 PM · 4.7 ftL 12:39 AM · 0.7 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.