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WeakfishShoulder seasonChannel · Virginia
Entrance Reach
36.98°N · 76.32°W · Channel · James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 PM · Weakfish
- Now
- 528 AM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Entrance Reach 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 · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
49Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
60Wind: 12 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Water temp: 79°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.3 ftSeason & habitat · Weakfish
Species seasonality
79Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Entrance Reach
- Depth
- 25-60 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
- 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 Entrance Reach
Entrance Reach is a channel in James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Depth is 25-60 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, 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 summer flounder, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, black sea bass, striped bass and weakfish. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August.
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.
- 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
- Hampton Roads71
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 71
- Scup 65
- Atlantic croaker 61
12 kt NEL 1:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:40 PM · 2.9 ft
- Old Point Comfort68
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 68
- Spot 65
- Little tunny 60
12 kt NEL 1:35 PM · 0.6 ftH 7:41 PM · 2.9 ft
- Hampton Bar65
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 65
- Spanish mackerel 64
- Little tunny 61
12 kt NEL 1:35 PM · 0.6 ftH 7:41 PM · 2.9 ft
- Sewells Point Spit62
Bar · 0.7 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 62
- Little tunny 58
- Spanish mackerel 58
12 kt NEL 1:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:40 PM · 2.9 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.
