Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Coles Point

38.15°N · 76.63°W · Cape · Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA

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Best score today · 2 AM · Summer flounder

71/100Great
Now
505 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score50Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward NNW
Wind15 kn ENEgusts 28 · steady
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast76% chance of rain
Water77°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

Coles Point

Depth
5-10 ftNearest water
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 Coles Point

Coles Point is a cape in Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 5-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 7.5 mi

    58
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 58
    • Spot 54
    • Spanish mackerel 52

    18 kt ENEL 5:39 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:34 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Ragged Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    50
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 50
    • Striped bass 45
    • Black sea bass 44

    13 kt NEH 12:45 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:08 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Stinking Point

    Cape · 2.2 mi

    49
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 49
    • Striped bass 45
    • Black sea bass 44

    13 kt NEH 12:45 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:08 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Thorns Point

    Cape · 14 mi

    49
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 49
    • Black sea bass 46
    • Striped bass 46

    13 kt NEL 5:57 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:23 AM · 1.7 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.