Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bar · Virginia

Penniman Spit

37.28°N · 76.58°W · Bar · York River

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 PM · Weakfish

75/100Great
Now
493 AM EDT
Best window
3-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

Time3ANOW
Score49Good
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind5 kn SWgusts 8 · steady
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy37% cloud
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.

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

Penniman Spit

Depth
2-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · 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 Penniman Spit

Penniman Spit is a bar in York River, Virginia. Depth is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, Spanish mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, Spanish mackerel, red drum and little tunny, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, striped bass and spotted seatrout. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Red drum peak in May and from September through October.

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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Blundering Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    66
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 66
    • Red drum 62
    • Little tunny 59

    5 kt SWH 6:29 AM · 2.3 ftL 12:20 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Poley Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Red drum 61
    • Little tunny 59

    5 kt SWH 6:29 AM · 2.3 ftL 12:20 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Green Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Red drum 61
    • Little tunny 59

    5 kt SWH 6:29 AM · 2.3 ftL 12:20 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Powhatan Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    65
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 65
    • Red drum 61
    • Little tunny 59

    5 kt SWH 6:29 AM · 2.3 ftL 12:20 PM · 0.8 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.