Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · Virginia

North End Point

37.94°N · 75.71°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · Red drum

74/100Great
Now
586 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Oct 5 · 7 PM

Time7P
Score71Great
Tide2.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.8 kn · toward NE
Wind3 kn Sgusts 20 · steady
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy69% cloud
Water71°FPersisted

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.

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

North End Point

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
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 North End Point

North End Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-6 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, scup and spot. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, spot and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August 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.
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.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Robin Hood Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Scup 69
    • Red drum 66

    14 kt NEH 10:19 PM · 2.5 ftL 4:54 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Pig Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Scup 64
    • Spot 64

    14 kt NEH 10:19 PM · 2.5 ftL 4:54 AM · 0.7 ft

  • North Point

    Cape · 2.6 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Scup 63
    • Spot 63

    14 kt NEH 9:58 PM · 2.6 ftL 4:54 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Persimmon Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Scup 61
    • Spot 60

    14 kt NEH 10:38 PM · 2.7 ftL 5:34 AM · 0.8 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.