Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Winall Point

36.92°N · 76.50°W · Cape · James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 11 AM · Summer flounder

78/100Great
Now
357 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide3.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward W
Wind16 kn NEgusts 29 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherOvercast99% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Summer flounder is best here

Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Peak season for Summer flounder · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in Virginia

Spot profile

Winall Point

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Winall Point

Winall Point is a cape in James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are bluefish, black sea bass and king mackerel. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, king mackerel and striped bass. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.

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.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Batten Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    48
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 48
    • King mackerel 48
    • Black sea bass 45

    16 kt NEL 1:56 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:05 AM · 2.7 ft

  • Great Shoal

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    47
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 47
    • Black sea bass 44
    • King mackerel 44

    16 kt NEL 2:00 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:00 AM · 3.2 ft

  • Point of Marsh

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    46
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 46
    • Black sea bass 45
    • King mackerel 45

    16 kt NEL 2:00 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:00 AM · 3.2 ft

  • Pike Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    46
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 46
    • Black sea bass 45
    • King mackerel 45

    16 kt NEL 2:00 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:00 AM · 3.2 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.