Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

TautogShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Bar Point

37.69°N · 76.48°W · Cape · Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Tautog

74/100Great
Now
445 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Bar Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score44Fair
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind12 kn NEgusts 22 · steady
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast90% chance of rain
Water79°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here

Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder

Tautog season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Tautog in Virginia

Spot profile

Bar Point

Depth
3-30 ftSlope
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonTautog

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 Bar Point

Bar Point is a cape in Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point, Virginia. Depth is 3-30 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, spot and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, Spanish mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, king mackerel and spotted seatrout. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Tautog
Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Punches Cove

    Bay · 2.8 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Spanish mackerel 63
    • Scup 60

    12 kt NEH 9:35 PM · 1.5 ftL 4:21 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Dead and Bones Cove

    Bay · 2.8 mi

    63
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 63
    • Spot 63
    • Scup 59

    12 kt NEH 9:35 PM · 1.5 ftL 4:21 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Yankee Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Spot 61
    • Spanish mackerel 58

    12 kt NEH 9:35 PM · 1.5 ftL 4:21 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Ball Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Spot 61
    • Spanish mackerel 58

    12 kt NEH 9:35 PM · 1.5 ftL 4:21 AM · 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.