Waterlands

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Black drumOff season

Cape · Virginia

Lawless Point

36.91°N · 76.32°W · Cape · James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River

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Best score today · 11 AM · Black drum

69/100Great
Now
3512 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.9 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
Score35Fair
Tide0.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.7 kn · toward N
Wind13 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% chance of rain
Water79°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black drum 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 Black drum is best here

Out of season for Black drum · it leaves in 6 weeks

Black drum season by week of the year. Out of season for Black drum · it leaves in 6 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Black drum in Virginia

Spot profile

Lawless Point

Depth
2-8 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonBlack 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 Lawless Point

Lawless Point is a cape in James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 2-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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 red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and king mackerel. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Spot peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

Black drum
Black drum root along the bottom around oyster reefs, bridge and pier pilings, channel edges and shallow mud flats. TPWD notes they rarely take artificials, so fish peeled shrimp, crab, clams or sand fleas on a bottom rig and let the fish load the rod before setting the hook. Big spawning schools gather near passes and bay mouths in late winter and spring, and in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay the large fish show up on the shoals from April into June.
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

  • Tanner Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Spanish mackerel 60
    • Spot 59

    13 kt NEL 1:30 PM · 0.6 ftH 7:58 PM · 3.0 ft

  • Craney Island Reach

    Channel · 1.7 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Summer flounder 62
    • Red drum 61

    13 kt NEL 1:30 PM · 0.6 ftH 7:58 PM · 3.0 ft

  • Craney Island Flats

    Bar · 2.2 mi

    64
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 64
    • Spanish mackerel 64
    • Little tunny 61

    13 kt NEL 1:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:40 PM · 2.9 ft

  • Lamberts Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Black sea bass 61
    • King mackerel 59

    13 kt NEL 1:30 PM · 0.6 ftH 7:58 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.