Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Little tunnyPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Halfmoon Point

37.82°N · 75.74°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Spot

76/100Great
Now
6612 PM EDT
Best window
6-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Halfmoon 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

Sunday, Sep 27 · 10 AM

Time10A
Score71Great
Tide1.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.1 kn · toward NNE
Wind17 kn NWgusts 29 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 4 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Virginia

Spot profile

Halfmoon Point

Depth
3-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonLittle tunny

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 Halfmoon Point

Halfmoon Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 3-5 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, spot and sheepshead. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, sheepshead and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and cobia. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
Sheepshead
Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • The Thorofare

    Channel · 0.9 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Sheepshead 67
    • Summer flounder 66

    8 kt NEL 3:31 PM · 0.8 ftH 9:23 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Zare Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Little tunny 65
    • Sheepshead 61

    8 kt NEL 3:31 PM · 0.8 ftH 9:23 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 66
    • Sheepshead 61

    8 kt NEL 3:31 PM · 0.8 ftH 9:23 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Canoedas Point

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Spot 62
    • Red drum 57

    8 kt NEL 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.