Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Channel · Virginia

Oyster Slip

37.29°N · 75.92°W · Channel · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Weakfish

51/100Good
Now
3012 AM EDT
Best window
8-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Low1.1 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 AM · now

Time12ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide1.1 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind20 kn NEgusts 31 · steady
Sea stateRough4.2 ft · 6 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherOvercast71% chance of rain
Water78°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

Weakfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Weakfish in Virginia

Spot profile

Oyster Slip

Depth
Under 1 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 Oyster Slip

Oyster Slip is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is under 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, scup and sheepshead. It is peak season now for scup, sheepshead, summer flounder and red drum, and shoulder season for black sea bass, Atlantic croaker, spotted seatrout and weakfish. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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.
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

  • Narrow Channel

    Channel · 1.3 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Scup 35
    • Sheepshead 35

    20 kt NEH 6:36 AM · 4.4 ftL 12:16 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Point of Rock Channel

    Channel · 1.8 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Scup 35
    • Sheepshead 35

    20 kt NEH 6:36 AM · 4.4 ftL 12:16 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Mockhorn Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    35
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 35
    • Bluefish 34
    • Summer flounder 31

    20 kt NEH 6:36 AM · 4.4 ftL 12:16 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Brockenberry Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    34
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 34
    • Scup 34
    • Summer flounder 31

    20 kt NEH 6:36 AM · 4.4 ftL 12:16 PM · 0.7 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.