Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Sandy Point

37.85°N · 75.69°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · Striped bass

74/100Great
Now
512 PM EDT
Best window
2-4 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.2 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score51Good
Tide1.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward SSW
Wind16 kn ENEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherOvercast53% chance of rain
Water76°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

Sandy Point

Depth
4-9 ftFlat bottom
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 Sandy Point

Sandy Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 4-9 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 bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

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.
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

  • Ebb Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spot 62
    • Bluefish 57

    16 kt ENEL 4:26 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:12 PM · 2.6 ft

  • Annis Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spot 60
    • Bluefish 57

    16 kt ENEL 4:30 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:20 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Cedar Cove

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Red drum 62
    • Summer flounder 59

    16 kt ENEL 4:26 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:12 PM · 2.6 ft

  • Flood Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Spot 60
    • Bluefish 57

    16 kt ENEL 4:26 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:12 PM · 2.6 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.