Rappahannock Light Tide Charts & Fishing

Season: Spring and fall migrations; summer in New England (check regs)

Baits: Live or chunk bunker (menhaden), Clams, Live eels

Stripers feed where moving water pushes bait against structure: inlet mouths, jetty tips, bridge shadows, rips and points. Fish the stronger part of the tide, and dawn, dusk and night, especially in summer. Chunks or clams on the bottom from the beach, eels or swimbaits at night along rocks. Circle hooks on bait; release fish carefully, most of the catch goes back.

Season: Year-round, best in cooler months

Baits: Live shrimp under a popping cork, Soft plastics, Topwaters

Drift grass flats in 2–6 feet with a popping cork ahead of the drift. Gator trout hunt alone in skinny water at dawn.

Season: Spring migration along the beaches, again in the fall

Baits: Live eels, Live pinfish or menhaden, Big bucktail jigs

A sight-fishing target that cruises just under the surface along the beach, often shadowing rays, turtles or buoys. From a pier or jetty, watch the up-current side and have a heavy jig ready to pitch. They follow a hooked fish to the boat and can be caught in pairs.

Season: Late spring through summer

Baits: Bloodworms, Squid, Shrimp

A bottom fish that runs in schools over sand and mud, especially in the Chesapeake and its rivers. Two-hook bottom rig, small hooks, bait on the bottom. Evenings and the hours around a tide change are usually best from piers and shorelines.

Season: Late spring through early fall (check regs)

Baits: Squid strips, Live killifish (minnows), Gulp! swimming mullet

Drift or slowly retrieve a bait along sandy and gravel bottom near channel edges, inlets and drop-offs. Moving water is everything: fluke face into the current and ambush bait, so a slack tide usually means a slow bite. Bounce the bottom and give a second before setting the hook.