Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Sheltons Point

37.65°N · 76.52°W · Cape · Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 4 PM · Weakfish

84/100Great
Now
5311 AM EST
Best window
3-5 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Nov 3 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score67Great
Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward W
Wind6 kn SEgusts 13 · steady
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy60% cloud
Water62°FPersisted

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 · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Weakfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Weakfish · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Weakfish in Virginia →

Spot profile

Sheltons Point

Depth
1-4 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Sheltons Point

Sheltons Point is a cape in Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 14 species here; the best right now are striped bass, spotted seatrout and bluefish. It is peak season now for striped bass, spotted seatrout, bluefish and tautog, and shoulder season for little tunny, weakfish, red drum and scup. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Spotted seatrout peak from October through November. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

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.
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.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Bailey Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    72
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 72
    • Spotted seatrout 65
    • Bluefish 63

    1 kt ESEL 12:01 PM · 0.4 ftH 5:57 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Ball Point

    Cape · 3.1 mi

    70
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 70
    • Spotted seatrout 64
    • Bluefish 62

    1 kt ESEL 11:57 AM · 0.4 ftH 5:44 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Yankee Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    70
    Top: Striped bassPeak season
    • Striped bass 70
    • Spotted seatrout 64
    • Bluefish 62

    1 kt ESEL 11:57 AM · 0.4 ftH 5:44 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Towles Point Bar

    Bar · 1.4 mi

    65
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 65
    • Bluefish 64
    • Striped bass 64

    1 kt ESEL 11:57 AM · 0.4 ftH 5:44 PM · 1.5 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.