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Red drumPeak seasonCape · Virginia
Chalmers Point
37.00°N · 76.62°W · Cape · James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Red drum
- Now
- 658 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 AM-2 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Chalmers Point scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
69Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
24Wind: 15 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
84Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
99Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Chalmers Point
- Depth
- Under 1 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 Chalmers Point
Chalmers Point is a cape in James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge, Virginia. Depth is under 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are red drum, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for red drum, spot, little tunny and summer flounder, and shoulder season for spotted seatrout, Atlantic croaker, bluefish and striped bass. Red drum peak in May and from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September 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.
- 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
- Red Point65
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 65
- Spot 64
- Little tunny 59
15 kt NEH 8:57 AM · 3.0 ftL 3:04 PM · 0.6 ft
- Bob Shoal65
Bar · 0.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 65
- Spot 64
- Spanish mackerel 60
15 kt NEH 8:57 AM · 3.0 ftL 3:04 PM · 0.6 ft
- Gatling Point65
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 65
- Little tunny 59
- Scup 57
15 kt NEH 8:57 AM · 3.0 ftL 3:04 PM · 0.6 ft
- Days Point65
Cape · 2.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 65
- Spot 65
- Little tunny 59
15 kt NEH 8:57 AM · 3.0 ftL 3:04 PM · 0.6 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.
