Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Jail Point

37.08°N · 76.55°W · Cape · James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge

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Best score today · 12 AM · Striped bass

66/100Great
Now
5012 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score50Good
Tide1.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward SSE
Wind16 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% chance of rain
Water78°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

Jail Point

Depth
2-3 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 Jail Point

Jail Point is a cape in James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge, Virginia. Depth is 2-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Thorofare

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Red drum 59
    • Sheepshead 59

    16 kt NEL 2:45 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:43 PM · 3.0 ft

  • Swash Hole

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Spanish mackerel 59
    • Red drum 58

    16 kt NEL 3:09 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:15 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Blunt Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Red drum 62
    • Spot 60

    16 kt NEL 2:45 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:43 PM · 3.0 ft

  • Curtis Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    62
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 62
    • Spot 62
    • Sheepshead 56

    16 kt NEL 2:45 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:43 PM · 3.0 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.