Waterlands

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Winter flounderShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Stinking Point

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

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Best score today · 5 PM · Winter flounder

82/100Great
Now
459 PM EST
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb 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

Friday, Nov 13 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score58Good
Tide1.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward W
Wind2 kn NEgusts 13 · steady
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy75% cloud
Water63°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Winter 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 Winter flounder is best here

Shoulder season for Winter flounder · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Winter flounder season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Winter flounder · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Winter flounder in Virginia →

Spot profile

Stinking Point

Depth
4-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWinter 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 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 14 species here; the best right now are striped bass, spotted seatrout and bluefish. It is peak season now for striped bass, spotted seatrout, bluefish and tautog, and shoulder season for little tunny, weakfish, scup and spot. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Winter flounder
Winter flounder spend late winter and spring on mud and sand bottom in harbors, coves and tidal channels, often in 5 to 30 feet. Anchor, chum with crushed clams or mussels, and fish small long-shank hooks with worm or clam on the bottom, tapping the rig to stir up mud. The bite is light, so use a sensitive rod.
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.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Coles Point

    Cape · 2.2 mi

    76
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 76
    • Spotted seatrout 69
    • Bluefish 67

    4 kt ENEL 1:40 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:25 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Ragged Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    75
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 75
    • Spotted seatrout 68
    • Bluefish 66

    2 kt ESEL 1:40 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:25 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 5.3 mi

    75
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 75
    • Spotted seatrout 68
    • Bluefish 67

    3 kt SEL 1:50 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:14 AM · 1.2 ft

  • Thorns Point

    Cape · 15 mi

    73
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 73
    • Spotted seatrout 67
    • Bluefish 66

    2 kt ESEL 2:05 AM · 0.5 ftH 7:50 AM · 1.4 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.