Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Bailey Point

37.72°N · 75.80°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 8 AM · Summer flounder

76/100Great
Now
5411 AM EDT
Best window
6-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score54Good
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind8 kn NNEgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy56% cloud
Water79°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.

Source: VMRC · synced yesterday

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

Bailey Point

Depth
1-15 ftSlope
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · slope
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 Bailey Point

Bailey Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

  • Poplar Cove

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    68
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 68
    • Red drum 62
    • Sheepshead 62

    8 kt NNEL 3:03 PM · 0.8 ftH 9:12 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Ware Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spot 65
    • Red drum 60

    8 kt NNEL 2:17 PM · 0.8 ftH 8:28 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Thicket Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spot 65
    • Red drum 60

    8 kt NNEL 2:17 PM · 0.8 ftH 8:28 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Onley Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Spot 62
    • Red drum 58

    8 kt NNEL 3:03 PM · 0.8 ftH 9:12 PM · 2.0 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.