Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Young Point

37.55°N · 75.85°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA

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Best score today · 7 AM · Red drum

67/100Great
Now
495 AM EDT
Best window
6-9 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score49Good
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind17 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 4 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast39% chance of rain
Water72°FObserved

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.

Source: VMRC · synced yesterday

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

Young Point

Depth
2-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Young Point

Young Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, Virginia. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, bluefish and spot. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. 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.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shields Cove

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    60
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 60
    • Scup 59
    • Sheepshead 56

    17 kt NEH 8:50 AM · 1.6 ftL 3:24 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Fisher Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    56
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 56
    • Bluefish 54
    • Spot 53

    17 kt NEH 8:50 AM · 1.6 ftL 3:24 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Gaskins Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    51
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 51
    • Striped bass 49
    • Black sea bass 44

    21 kt NEH 8:50 AM · 1.6 ftL 3:24 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Scarborough Gut

    Gut · 3.3 mi

    49
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 49
    • Striped bass 47
    • Bluefish 45

    21 kt NEH 8:50 AM · 1.6 ftL 3:24 PM · 0.3 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.