Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak season

Channel · Virginia

Upper Haul Over

37.62°N · 75.67°W · Channel · Coastal waters from Chincoteague to Parramore Island VA out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 10 AM · Summer flounder

67/100Great
Now
359 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 PM · now

Time9PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide3.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind18 kn NEgusts 32 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here

Last week of peak season for Summer flounder · shoulder season next

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Last week of peak season for Summer flounder · shoulder season next.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in Virginia

Spot profile

Upper Haul Over

Depth
Under 1 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSummer flounder

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 Upper Haul Over

Upper Haul Over is a channel in Coastal waters from Chincoteague to Parramore Island VA out 20 NM, Virginia. Depth is under 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are bluefish, striped bass and black sea bass. It is peak season now for yellowfin tuna, little tunny, red drum and scup, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and king mackerel. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Custis Channel

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    57
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 57
    • Striped bass 56
    • Black sea bass 55

    18 kt NEL 1:04 AM · 0.9 ftH 7:14 AM · 4.2 ft

  • Hummock Cove

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    57
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 57
    • Striped bass 56
    • Black sea bass 50

    18 kt NEL 1:04 AM · 0.9 ftH 7:14 AM · 4.2 ft

  • Wachapreague Channel

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    57
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 57
    • Striped bass 56
    • Black sea bass 55

    18 kt NEL 1:04 AM · 0.9 ftH 7:14 AM · 4.2 ft

  • Hummock Channel

    Channel · 1.5 mi

    38
    Top: Yellowfin tunaPeak season
    • Yellowfin tuna 38
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 30
    • Atlantic croaker 30

    18 kt NEL 1:04 AM · 0.9 ftH 7:14 AM · 4.2 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.