UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
TautogShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Tautog
- Now
- 538 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 AM-12 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.1 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Gloucester Point scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Thursday, Sep 24 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
99Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.0 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
50Wind: 14 kt NNEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
33Water temp: 79°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Tautog
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Tautog 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 Tautog is best here
Shoulder season for Tautog · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Gloucester Point
- Depth
- 3-70 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonTautog
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 Gloucester Point
Gloucester Point is a cape in York River, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 3-70 ft, with a drop-off. 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 Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, black sea bass, king mackerel and bluefish. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Tautog
- Tautog live in rocks, wrecks, bridge pilings and jetties and rarely stray from cover, usually in 10 to 60 feet inshore and deeper in late fall. Anchor so the bait sits in the structure, fish crab on a short rig or a tog jig, and set hard on the second tap before the fish pulls into the rocks. Clams and worms work better in cold spring water; hard crabs are the standard in fall.
- 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
- Cornwallis Cove76
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 76
- Scup 69
- Atlantic croaker 64
7 kt ESEL 12:40 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:07 PM · 2.6 ft
- Stony Point72
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 72
- Little tunny 66
- Scup 63
7 kt ESEL 12:40 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:07 PM · 2.6 ft
- Point of Rocks71
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 71
- Scup 70
- Little tunny 65
7 kt ESEL 12:42 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:07 PM · 2.5 ft
- Quarter Point71
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 71
- Little tunny 65
- Spanish mackerel 62
7 kt ESEL 12:40 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:07 PM · 2.6 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.