Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

TautogShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Green Point

37.90°N · 75.67°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Tautog

75/100Great
Now
394 AM EDT
Best window
5-11 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.8 ft

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

Notify me when Green Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score39Fair
Tide0.8 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward S
Wind8 kn Egusts 15 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water77°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.

Source: VMRC · synced yesterday

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

Green Point

Depth
2-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Green Point

Green Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 2-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Dicks Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    65
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 65
    • Spot 60
    • Little tunny 59

    8 kt EL 4:14 AM · 0.8 ftH 9:50 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Rock Gut

    Gut · 1.5 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Red drum 61
    • Atlantic croaker 55

    8 kt EL 4:28 AM · 0.8 ftH 9:56 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Drum Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    60
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 60
    • Little tunny 59
    • Red drum 56

    8 kt EL 4:14 AM · 0.8 ftH 9:50 AM · 2.2 ft

  • South Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    57
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 57
    • Little tunny 55
    • Red drum 52

    8 kt EL 4:13 AM · 1.1 ftH 9:34 AM · 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.