Waterlands

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TautogShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Black Point

37.20°N · 76.73°W · Cape · James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge

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Best score today · 2 PM · Tautog

70/100Great
Now
471 AM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score47Good
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward ENE
Wind11 kn NNEgusts 22 · steady
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast83% chance of rain
Water79°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

Black Point

Depth
2-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Black Point

Black Point is a cape in James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge, Virginia. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, little tunny and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, red drum and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, Atlantic croaker and spotted seatrout. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Red drum peak in May and from September 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • The Thorofare

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    73
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 73
    • Red drum 65
    • Atlantic croaker 63

    11 kt NNEL 4:23 AM · 0.7 ftH 10:11 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Goose Hill Channel

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    73
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 73
    • Red drum 66
    • Atlantic croaker 63

    11 kt NNEL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ftH 10:03 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Lower Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Little tunny 60
    • Red drum 60

    11 kt NNEL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ftH 10:03 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Drewry Point

    Cape · 3.1 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Little tunny 61
    • Red drum 61

    11 kt NNEL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ftH 10:03 AM · 2.1 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.