Waterlands

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Little tunnyPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Rum Point

37.87°N · 76.01°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 1 AM · Spot

69/100Great
Now
687 AM EDT
Best window
7-11 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.9 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Sep 26 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score65Great
Tide0.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward S
Wind18 kn NNWgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.8 ft · 4 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy31% chance of rain
Water71°FBias corrected

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.

Source: VMRC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Little tunny is best here

Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Virginia

Spot profile

Rum Point

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak 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 Rum Point

Rum Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-3 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 sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and king mackerel. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

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.
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.
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

  • Goose Harbor

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    75
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 75
    • Sheepshead 70
    • Red drum 69

    12 kt EH 9:29 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:48 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Tangier North Channel

    Channel · 3.0 mi

    75
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 75
    • Scup 73
    • Sheepshead 71

    12 kt EH 9:29 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:48 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Fishing Gut

    Bay · 2.6 mi

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

    12 kt EH 9:29 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:48 PM · 0.2 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 3.0 mi

    72
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 72
    • Spot 69
    • Scup 67

    12 kt EH 9:29 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:48 PM · 0.2 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.