Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Long Point

37.90°N · 75.76°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 5 PM · Little tunny

85/100Epic
Now
6511 PM EST
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 PM · now

Time11PNOW
Score65Great
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward SSW
Wind5 kn SSEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherClear1% cloud
Water63°FObserved

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

Shoulder season for Little tunny · 2 more weeks at shoulder

Little tunny season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Little tunny · 2 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Virginia →

Spot profile

Long Point

Depth
2-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder 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 Long Point

Long Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are striped bass, spotted seatrout and bluefish. It is peak season now for striped bass, spotted seatrout, bluefish and tautog, and shoulder season for little tunny, weakfish, red drum and spot. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

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.
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.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Guilford Flats

    Flat · 2.6 mi

    83
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 83
    • Striped bass 74
    • Weakfish 70

    5 kt SSEL 2:35 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:17 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Scarborough Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    81
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 81
    • Spotted seatrout 74
    • Bluefish 71

    5 kt SSEL 2:24 AM · 0.5 ftH 8:03 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Drum Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    79
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 79
    • Striped bass 78
    • Tautog 72

    5 kt SSEL 2:24 AM · 0.5 ftH 8:03 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Back Cove

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    79
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 79
    • Striped bass 78
    • Tautog 72

    5 kt SSEL 2:24 AM · 0.5 ftH 8:03 AM · 2.5 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.