Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Jarvis Point

37.72°N · 76.31°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 9 AM · Tautog

76/100Great
Now
472 PM EDT
Best window
5-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score47Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward S
Wind12 kn ENEgusts 25 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 3 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% chance of rain
Water79°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.

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

Jarvis Point

Depth
2-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Jarvis Point

Jarvis Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 2-10 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 Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, Spanish mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Ingram Cove

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    68
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 68
    • Spanish mackerel 63
    • Red drum 61

    12 kt ENEL 3:50 PM · 0.3 ftH 10:04 PM · 1.2 ft

  • Kent Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Spot 63
    • Spanish mackerel 59

    12 kt ENEL 3:50 PM · 0.3 ftH 10:04 PM · 1.2 ft

  • Hughlett Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Spot 63
    • Spanish mackerel 59

    12 kt ENEL 3:50 PM · 0.3 ftH 10:04 PM · 1.2 ft

  • Bluff Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    59
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 59
    • Spanish mackerel 55
    • Spot 55

    12 kt ENEL 2:33 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:54 PM · 1.6 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.