Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Gloucester Point

37.25°N · 76.50°W · Cape · York River

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Best score today · 9 AM · Striped bass

72/100Great
Now
475 AM EDT
Best window
3-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.1 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 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score47Good
Tide2.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward W
Wind4 kn WSWgusts 8 · steady
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy23% cloud
Water81°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

Gloucester Point

Depth
3-70 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
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 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 Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for spot, scup, red drum 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. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August.

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

  • Cornwallis Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    75
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 75
    • Scup 66
    • Atlantic croaker 64

    4 kt WSWL 11:47 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:16 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Point of Rocks

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Scup 66
    • Atlantic croaker 59

    4 kt WSWH 5:51 AM · 2.0 ftL 11:46 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Stony Point

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Atlantic croaker 59
    • Red drum 58

    4 kt WSWL 11:47 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:16 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Quarter Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    70
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 70
    • Atlantic croaker 59
    • Red drum 58

    4 kt WSWL 11:47 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:16 PM · 2.5 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.