Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Little tunnyPeak season

Cape · Virginia

Stinking Point

38.13°N · 76.60°W · Cape · Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 PM · Red drum

76/100Great
Now
7110 AM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.1 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Stinking 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 · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score71Great
Tide1.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward SE
Wind5 kn SSWgusts 12 · steady
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy26% cloud
Water77°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Peak season for Little tunny · 6 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 6 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Little tunny in Virginia

Spot profile

Stinking Point

Depth
4-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonLittle tunny

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 Stinking Point

Stinking Point is a cape in Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 4-6 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, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for little tunny, spot, red drum and sheepshead, and shoulder season for spotted seatrout, Atlantic croaker, bluefish and black sea bass. Little tunny peak from September through October. Spot peak from August through October. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • Coles Point

    Cape · 2.2 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Red drum 71
    • Spot 70

    6 kt SL 12:39 PM · 0.5 ftH 8:01 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Ragged Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    71
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 71
    • Spot 70
    • Red drum 69

    5 kt SSWL 12:39 PM · 0.5 ftH 8:01 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 5.3 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Little tunny 69
    • Red drum 67

    6 kt SSWL 12:49 PM · 0.5 ftH 7:50 PM · 1.4 ft

  • Thorns Point

    Cape · 15 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Red drum 67
    • Little tunny 66

    5 kt SSWL 1:27 PM · 0.5 ftH 7:53 PM · 1.6 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.