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Summer flounderPeak seasonBar · Virginia
Point Shoals
37.08°N · 76.64°W · Bar · James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Summer flounder
- Now
- 585 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding1.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Point Shoals 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
70Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
37Wind: 12 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Summer flounder
Species seasonality
83Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: VMRC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Summer flounder is best here
Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Point Shoals
- Depth
- 7-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · 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 Point Shoals
Point Shoals is a bar in James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge, Virginia. Depth is 7-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, Spanish mackerel and spot. It is peak season now for little tunny, Spanish mackerel, spot and scup, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, spotted seatrout and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Spot peak from August through October.
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.
- 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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Burwell Bay69
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 69
- Scup 68
- Little tunny 64
12 kt NEH 8:57 PM · 2.9 ftL 3:34 AM · 0.7 ft
- Rock Landing Shoal Channel67
Channel · 2.3 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 67
- Scup 65
- Red drum 61
12 kt NEH 9:15 PM · 2.5 ftL 3:38 AM · 0.5 ft
- Swash Hole67
Bay · 2.9 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 67
- Scup 65
- Little tunny 62
15 kt NEH 9:15 PM · 2.5 ftL 3:38 AM · 0.5 ft
- Marshy Point65
Cape · 2.9 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 65
- Spot 62
- Scup 60
15 kt NEH 9:15 PM · 2.5 ftL 3:38 AM · 0.5 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.
