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Red drumPeak seasonCape · Virginia
Factory Point
37.76°N · 75.77°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Red drum
- Now
- 5610 AM EDT
- Best window
- 6-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Factory Point 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
38Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
64Wind: 8 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
78Water temp: 78°F, primeLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: VMRC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red drum is best here
Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Factory Point
- Depth
- Up to 2 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Factory Point
Factory Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is up to 2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, little tunny and scup. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, scup and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, spotted seatrout and black sea bass. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June 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
- Custis Cove72
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 72
- Scup 66
- Spanish mackerel 61
8 kt NNEL 2:43 PM · 1.2 ftH 8:58 PM · 2.2 ft
- Island Bay72
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 72
- Scup 66
- Red drum 65
8 kt NNEL 2:43 PM · 1.2 ftH 8:58 PM · 2.2 ft
- Rainy Point67
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 67
- Little tunny 61
- Scup 61
8 kt NNEL 2:43 PM · 1.2 ftH 8:58 PM · 2.2 ft
- Custis Point67
Cape · 2.5 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 67
- Little tunny 61
- Scup 61
8 kt NNEL 2:43 PM · 1.2 ftH 8:58 PM · 2.2 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.
