Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Rowes Point

37.65°N · 76.43°W · Cape · Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Summer flounder

75/100Great
Now
627 PM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.2 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
Score62Good
Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward W
Wind12 kn NEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp68°Warm
WeatherOvercast76% chance of rain
Water79°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

Rowes Point

Depth
Under 1 ftNearest water
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 Rowes Point

Rowes Point is a cape in Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is under 1 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, red drum and spot. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, spot and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and spotted seatrout. Little tunny peak from September through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October. 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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Bridge Cove

    Bay · 0.1 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Red drum 66
    • Scup 65

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

  • Jack Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Red drum 66
    • Scup 65

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

  • Galley Hook Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 65
    • Spanish mackerel 62

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

  • Crab Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 65
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    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.