Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Factory Point

37.76°N · 75.77°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 8 AM · Striped bass

70/100Great
Now
628 AM EDT
Best window
8-10 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score62Good
Tide1.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward NNE
Wind16 kn NEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.3 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast41% chance of rain
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Striped bass 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 Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Striped bass in Virginia

Spot profile

Factory Point

Depth
Up to 2 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped bass

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 little tunny, scup and striped bass. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for striped bass, bluefish, black sea bass and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December.

Tackle & technique

Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
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

  • Rainy Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Scup 62
    • Striped bass 62

    16 kt NEH 10:09 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:28 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Custis Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Scup 62
    • Striped bass 62

    16 kt NEH 10:09 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:28 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Custis Cove

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 66

    16 kt NEH 10:09 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:28 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Island Bay

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Red drum 66
    • Spot 66

    16 kt NEH 10:09 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:28 PM · 0.9 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.