Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

North Point

37.64°N · 76.31°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 9 AM · Striped bass

75/100Great
Now
577 PM EDT
Best window
7-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score57Good
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward WNW
Wind12 kn NEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.8 ft · 4 s
Air temp68°Warm
WeatherOvercast76% chance of rain
Water79°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Striped bass 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 Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder

Striped bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Striped bass in Virginia

Spot profile

North Point

Depth
1-4 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped bass

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 Point

North Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 1-4 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, Spanish mackerel and spot. It is peak season now for little tunny, Spanish mackerel, spot and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and king mackerel. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Spot peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Rappahanncock Spit

    Bar · 3.2 mi

    67
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 67
    • Little tunny 66
    • Summer flounder 63

    12 kt ENEH 8:54 PM · 1.6 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Antepoison Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spanish mackerel 62
    • Spot 62

    12 kt NEH 8:54 PM · 1.6 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Deep Hole Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spot 62
    • Spanish mackerel 61

    12 kt ENEH 8:54 PM · 1.6 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Bluff Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Spot 61
    • Spanish mackerel 59

    12 kt NEH 8:54 PM · 1.6 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.6 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.