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Striped bassShoulder seasonCape · Virginia
Jail Point
37.08°N · 76.55°W · Cape · James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Striped bass
- 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
Notify me when Jail 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 · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
78Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
29Wind: 16 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
39Water temp: 78°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Striped bass
Species seasonality
75Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: VMRC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Striped bass is best here
Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
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
- Thorofare66
Channel · 2.5 mi
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 Hole65
Bay · 3.4 mi
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 Point63
Cape · 2.4 mi
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 Point62
Cape · 0.4 mi
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.
