Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · Virginia

East Point

37.83°N · 75.98°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 7 PM · Red drum

77/100Great
Now
644 AM EDT
Best window
4-9 PMFlood 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

Thursday, Sep 24 · 3 AM

Time3A
Score57Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward SW
Wind19 kn NNEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp68°Mild
WeatherOvercast98% cloud
Water79°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red drum 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 Red drum is best here

Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak

Red drum season by week of the year. Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Red drum in Virginia

Spot profile

East Point

Depth
1-6 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonRed drum

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 East Point

East Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 1-6 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, little tunny and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, red drum and sheepshead, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, striped bass and black sea bass. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Mailboat Harbor

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    80
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 80
    • Red drum 73
    • Sheepshead 70

    6 kt NEH 6:29 AM · 1.2 ftL 12:54 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Tangier North Channel

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    77
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 77
    • Red drum 70
    • Atlantic croaker 69

    6 kt NEH 6:29 AM · 1.2 ftL 12:54 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Fishing Gut

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    76
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 76
    • Red drum 73
    • Atlantic croaker 65

    6 kt NEH 6:29 AM · 1.2 ftL 12:54 PM · 0.3 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Red drum 64
    • Little tunny 63

    6 kt NEH 6:29 AM · 1.2 ftL 12:54 PM · 0.3 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.