Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bay · Virginia

Cornwallis Cove

37.23°N · 76.50°W · Bay · York River

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Best score today · 6 PM · Weakfish

78/100Great
Now
507 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score50Good
Tide2.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward WNW
Wind10 kn Egusts 18 · steady
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherOvercast37% chance of rain
Water81°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.

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

Cornwallis Cove

Depth
3-80 ftDrop-off
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
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 Cornwallis Cove

Cornwallis Cove is a bay in York River, Virginia. Depth is 3-80 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, 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, Spanish mackerel and red drum, 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

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

  • Point of Rocks

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Scup 71
    • Little tunny 62

    10 kt EL 12:44 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:48 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Gloucester Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Scup 71
    • Little tunny 62

    10 kt EL 12:41 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:42 AM · 2.3 ft

  • Quarter Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Scup 63
    • Little tunny 62

    10 kt EL 12:41 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:42 AM · 2.3 ft

  • Stony Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Little tunny 64
    • Scup 63

    10 kt EL 12:41 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:42 AM · 2.3 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.