Mid-Atlantic · ChartNav curated ground
Chesapeake Light Tower
The tower off Virginia Beach — a structure beacon for cobia, red drum and Spanish mackerel through the warm season.
What's biting here — right now
Prime water for Atlantic Croaker & Black Drum — 71°F on the bottom, water moving now.
Today's bite
4:15 PM – 7:55 PM · dusk bite
Days ahead
Today
GO
5 kt
Mon
OK
wind 16 kt
Tue
OK
wind 17 kt
Wed
GO
10 kt
Thu
GO
9 kt
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 71°F at 33 ft in the prime band (59–82°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (10–82 ft ideal)
Shrimp or squid on a bottom rig over mud and shell in the bays and nearshore lumps.
Black Drum100
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 71°F at 33 ft in the prime band (54–82°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (7–66 ft ideal)
Better near bridge pilings and jetty rock if you can find it
Fresh crab or clam on the bottom along channel edges and hard against bridge and jetty rock.
Bluefish100
In season (Oct)
SST 71°F in the prime band (64–75°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (7–98 ft ideal)
Metal lures or poppers through bait schools and birds; wire leader.
In season (Oct)
SST 71°F in the prime band (63–73°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (16–131 ft ideal)
Temperature break nearby (0.8°C across ~15 nm)
Trolled small feathers or cast metals around bait; moving water.
In season (Oct)
SST 71°F in the prime band (63–75°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (49–656 ft ideal)
Temperature break nearby (0.8°C across ~15 nm)
Small metals or sabikis around bait balls on the edge — a late-summer arrival that draws everything bigger.
In season (Oct)
SST 71°F in the prime band (64–73°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (16–131 ft ideal)
Temperature break nearby (0.8°C across ~15 nm)
Small metals or epoxy jigs cast to surface-feeding schools; fast retrieve.
Weakfish99
In season (Oct)
SST 71°F in the prime band (63–77°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (10–49 ft ideal)
Soft plastics or bloodworms on channel edges at dusk; light tackle.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 71°F at 33 ft in the prime band (46–72°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (33–148 ft ideal)
No charted structure within 250 m — scored cautiously (charts don't mark all hard bottom)
Squid or clam on hi-lo rigs directly over wrecks, reefs and rockpiles.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 71°F at 33 ft workable (46–70°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (26–131 ft ideal)
Better near structure or edges if you can find it
Small hooks with squid or worms over hard bottom and mussel beds.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 71°F at 33 ft in the prime band (61–79°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (3–39 ft ideal)
Bloodworm or shrimp bits on a small hi-lo in the surf trough and inlet sloughs.
In season (Oct)
SST 71°F workable (54–68°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (3–66 ft ideal)
Better near structure or edges if you can find it
Live bait or plugs on rips, ledges and boulder fields; dawn/dusk moving tide.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 71°F at 33 ft workable (46–68°F prime)
Charted 50 ft suits this species (26–131 ft ideal)
Better near structure or edges if you can find it
Bucktail + strip bait drifted over sand near channel edges and structure.
Live habitat-envelope scoring at this exact cell — SST, charted depth, charted structure and seabed, NOAA-designated habitat. The same engine and cards as tapping the spot in Fish mode.
Today's bite windows — moving water
Moving water right now — easing
4:15 PM – 7:55 PM
peak 6:05 PM · ebb
peak 6:05 PM · ebb
10:47 PM – 2:05 AM
peak 12:26 AM · flood
peak 12:26 AM · flood
4:47 AM – 8:05 AM
peak 6:26 AM · ebb
peak 6:26 AM · ebb
Derived from the tide at Rudee Inlet entrance — flow peaks near mid-tide, goes slack near high and low. No tidal-current station within 10 nm of this spot. Timing only — it never changes the habitat scores above.
The week ahead — full forecast
Drag the graph for any hour — wind, gusts, seas & period, rain, predicted current. The pale band around the wind line is model disagreement; the day chips carry the verdict and the number that caused it; the moons are real phases.
Sea state right now — every train
Combined
2.9 ft @ 7 s
from ENE
Wind sea
0.0 ft
Swell 1
2.8 ft @ 7 s
from ENE
Swell 2
0.0 ft
Swell 3
0.0 ft
Wind: NBM 2.5km direct (68 h) → GFS 0.25° direct (4 h) → Open-Meteo blend (96 h) · Waves: GFS-Wave 0.16° (12Z cycle), full train decomposition · Confidence band: GEFS ensemble spread · Bite windows: CO-OPS tidal predictions
Water temperature — last 10 weeks
2026-07-25 → 2026-10-03 · 71–81°F
Best months here
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Species in season by month for Mid-Atlantic (from the knowledge base). In season now: Atlantic Croaker, Black Drum, Black Sea Bass, Blueline Tilefish, Golden Tilefish, Northern Kingfish, Red Porgy, Scup (Porgy), Summer Flounder (Fluke), Tautog.
Other grounds in Mid-Atlantic
The Mud Hole
Summer Flounder (Fluke) · Black Sea Bass · Bluefish
Baltimore Canyon
Yellowfin Tuna · White Marlin · Bluefin Tuna
Wilmington Canyon
Yellowfin Tuna · Mahi-Mahi · White Marlin
Reuse welcome with attribution. Weekly regional report: Mid-Atlantic · Feed: RSS · all US grounds: /fishing.