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Summer flounderPeak seasonCape · Virginia
Big Point
36.90°N · 76.45°W · Cape · James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Summer flounder
- Now
- 382 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.6 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big 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 · 2 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
26Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
34Wind: 15 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
51Water temp: 79°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.7 ftSeason & habitat · Summer flounder
Species seasonality
68Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of 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 yesterday
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
Big Point
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Big Point
Big Point is a cape in James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
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 scup, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and Atlantic croaker. 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
- 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.
- 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
- Willis John Shoal47
Bar · 1.4 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 47
- Spanish mackerel 44
- Bluefish 43
15 kt NEH 8:05 AM · 2.7 ftL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ft
- Great Shoal47
Bar · 1.9 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 47
- Spanish mackerel 44
- Bluefish 43
15 kt NEH 8:00 AM · 3.2 ftL 2:10 PM · 0.6 ft
- Halfpone Shoal47
Bar · 2.0 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 47
- Spanish mackerel 44
- Bluefish 43
15 kt NEH 8:00 AM · 3.2 ftL 2:10 PM · 0.6 ft
- Noggins Shoal47
Bar · 2.3 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 47
- Spanish mackerel 44
- Bluefish 43
15 kt NEH 8:00 AM · 3.2 ftL 2:10 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.
