Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Ferry Point

37.85°N · 76.35°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 9 AM · Red drum

73/100Great
Now
555 AM EDT
Best window
9 AM-12 PMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score55Good
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind6 kn ENEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 3 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherOvercast37% chance of rain
Water78°FObserved

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.

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

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

Ferry Point

Depth
10-20 ftSlope
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · slope
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 Ferry Point

Ferry Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 10-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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

  • Horn Harbor

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Scup 58
    • Sheepshead 57

    6 kt ENEH 9:57 AM · 1.2 ftL 4:16 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Rogue Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    57
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 57
    • Red drum 55
    • Little tunny 54

    6 kt ENEH 9:57 AM · 1.2 ftL 4:16 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Glebe Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    57
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 57
    • Red drum 55
    • Little tunny 54

    6 kt ENEH 9:57 AM · 1.2 ftL 4:16 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Eagle Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    56
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 56
    • Little tunny 54
    • Red drum 53

    6 kt ENEH 9:57 AM · 1.2 ftL 4:16 PM · 0.7 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.