Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Sandy Point

38.07°N · 76.54°W · Cape · Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA

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Best score today · 5 PM · Striped bass

69/100Great
Now
441 AM EDT
Best window
3-6 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score44Fair
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward NW
Wind17 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Air temp67°Mild
WeatherOvercast81% chance of rain
Water75°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Striped bass is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with VMRC before you keep a fish.

Source: VMRC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Striped bass in Virginia

Spot profile

Sandy Point

Depth
6-10 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped bass

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 Sandy Point

Sandy Point is a cape in Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and little tunny. It is peak season now for spot, scup, little tunny and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, striped bass and spotted seatrout. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
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.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Coles Point

    Cape · 7.5 mi

    64
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 64
    • Scup 60
    • Little tunny 54

    13 kt NEL 6:08 AM · 0.5 ftH 1:14 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Stinking Point

    Cape · 5.3 mi

    61
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 61
    • Scup 57
    • Little tunny 52

    13 kt NEL 6:08 AM · 0.5 ftH 1:14 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Ragged Point

    Cape · 6.4 mi

    61
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 61
    • Scup 57
    • Little tunny 52

    13 kt NEL 6:08 AM · 0.5 ftH 1:14 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Cedar Point

    Cape · 16 mi

    60
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 60
    • Bluefish 58
    • Spot 58

    12 kt NEL 4:55 AM · 0.7 ftH 10:43 AM · 1.3 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.