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Black sea bassShoulder seasonGut · Virginia
North Inlet
37.45°N · 75.69°W · Gut · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 10 AM · Black sea bass
- Now
- 5810 AM EDT
- Best window
- 10 AM-12 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when North Inlet 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
53Wind: 16 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
57Water temp: 70°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 4.8 ftSeason & habitat · Black sea bass
Species seasonality
69Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Black sea 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 Black sea bass is best here
Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
North Inlet
- Depth
- 3-8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonBlack sea 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 North Inlet
North Inlet is a gut in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is 3-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, summer flounder and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, summer flounder, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and king mackerel. Little tunny peak from September through October. Summer flounder peak from June through September. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Black sea bass
- Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
- 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.
- Summer flounder
- Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Quinby Inlet65
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 65
- Black sea bass 60
- Summer flounder 60
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft
- The Straits59
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: SheepsheadPeak season- Sheepshead 59
- Summer flounder 59
- Black sea bass 58
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft
- Hodges Narrows56
Gut · 0.3 mi
Top: Black sea bassShoulder season- Black sea bass 56
- Striped bass 53
- Bluefish 49
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft
- Sandy Island Bay56
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 56
- Summer flounder 56
- Bluefish 55
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 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.
