Waterlands

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TautogShoulder 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 AM · Tautog

73/100Great
Now
406 PM EDT
Best window
6-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score40Fair
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind18 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherOvercast44% chance of rain
Water75°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here

Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder

Tautog season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Tautog in Virginia

Spot profile

East Point

Depth
1-6 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonTautog

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 little tunny, scup and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and king mackerel. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Tautog
Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
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.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Mailboat Harbor

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    64
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 63
    • Sheepshead 62

    18 kt NEH 9:58 PM · 1.6 ftL 4:33 AM · 0.2 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Scup 57
    • Bluefish 56

    18 kt NEH 9:58 PM · 1.6 ftL 4:33 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Fishing Gut

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 60
    • Red drum 57

    18 kt NEH 9:58 PM · 1.6 ftL 4:33 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Tangier North Channel

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    62
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 62
    • Spot 61
    • Sheepshead 59

    18 kt NEH 9:58 PM · 1.6 ftL 4:33 AM · 0.2 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.