Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Pig Point

37.94°N · 75.68°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · Tautog

74/100Great
Now
518 AM EDT
Best window
8-11 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.9 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score51Good
Tide1.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind10 kn ENEgusts 18 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast97% cloud
Water77°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.

Source: VMRC · synced yesterday

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

Pig Point

Depth
2-5 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 Pig Point

Pig Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 2-5 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 scup. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, scup and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, Atlantic croaker and spotted seatrout. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October.

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

  • Robin Hood Bay

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    74
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 74
    • Red drum 72
    • Scup 71

    10 kt ENEH 9:50 AM · 2.2 ftL 4:08 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Persimmon Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Spot 71
    • Scup 67

    10 kt ENEH 10:14 AM · 2.3 ftL 4:55 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Green Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    72
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 72
    • Little tunny 71
    • Spot 69

    10 kt ENEH 9:50 AM · 2.2 ftL 4:08 PM · 0.7 ft

  • North End Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    71
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 71
    • Spot 69
    • Scup 66

    10 kt ENEH 9:50 AM · 2.2 ftL 4:08 PM · 0.7 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.