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York River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The York from West Point to Yorktown: free piers, public ramps and about 40 miles of tidal river.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 7:54 PM
Air / High
65 / 65 F
Wind
NNE 13 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8637689, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

York River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 13 mph, steady pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 65. Tides: high 7:35 AM and 7:54 PM, low 1:18 AM and 1:53 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 64 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:40 AM-11:40 AM and 10:08 PM-12:08 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Speckled troutExcellent

As water cools in fall, trout leave the shallow bays for deeper water, and in dry years many run up rivers and bayous with the first cool weather (TPWD). Work fish-shaped lures and shrimp-tail jigs slower and deeper.

Tomorrow: Similar at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Virginia requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $23.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Virginia licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing striped bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DWR before you keep anything. The season dates for Virginia, read off the agency, are on the Virginia seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8637689 (Yorktown USCG Training Center). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW1:18 AM0.4 ft
HIGH7:35 AM2.6 ft
LOW1:53 PM0.4 ft
HIGH7:54 PM2.5 ft
Sat
LOW2:01 AM0.2 ft
HIGH8:16 AM2.9 ft
LOW2:42 PM0.3 ft
HIGH8:37 PM2.6 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp65 F
High / Low65 / 49 F
WindNNE 13-15 mph
Pressure1024.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain7% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:21 / 18:18
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~64 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish York River this week

The best day on York River this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:40 AM-11:40 AM and 10:08 PM-12:08 AM
Minor period
4:01 AM-5:01 AM
Sun
07:21 to 18:18
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 17 mph
Rain chance
1%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on York River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Speckled trout illustration

Speckled trout

Shallow bays spring and summer; deeper water in winter

Speckled trout is the anglers' name for the spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), a spotted member of the drum family that lives in shallow bays and estuaries from the Chesapeake to Texas. As water cools in fall, trout leave the shallow bays for deeper water, and in dry years many run up rivers and bayous with the first cool weather (TPWD). Work fish-shaped lures and shrimp-tail jigs slower and deeper.

When to come: the York River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
Speckled trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 64 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~64 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks York River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 16 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 16 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Virginia requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Virginia saltwater license or registration away from the Yorktown pier. VMRC sets spring and fall Chesapeake Bay striped bass seasons with a slot limit and a non-offset circle-hook rule for bait; check its current sheet.

Access

Yorktown Fishing Pier (free), Gloucester Point Beach Park pier and DWR ramps, Back Creek Park ramp, and Croaker Landing ramp and pier in York River State Park.

About this water

A tidal Chesapeake Bay tributary about 40 miles long from West Point to the bay, between Gloucester and York counties, Virginia.

Fishing York River: the full guide

A tidal river

The York forms at West Point where the Mattaponi and Pamunkey meet and runs about 40 miles to the Chesapeake Bay, entering it some 5 miles east of Yorktown (Virginia Institute of Marine Science). York County's tourism office counts more than 130 fish species in the river.

What bites when

Visit Yorktown lists striped bass, catfish and white perch year-round; croaker, spot, cobia and flounder in spring and summer; and puppy drum and speckled trout in fall and winter. Off Gloucester Point, Virginia DWR names spot, croaker, gray trout, black sea bass, flounder and rockfish in the high-salinity water.

Fishing without a boat

The Yorktown Fishing Pier on Water Street is free, open year-round and wheelchair accessible, and the county covers the fishing license for anglers on it. Across the river, Gloucester Point Beach Park at the north end of the Coleman Bridge has a county fishing pier. Upriver, Croaker Landing in York River State Park has a 360-foot T-pier where croaker, spot and striped bass are the usual catch.

Boat ramps

Virginia DWR maintains two double concrete ramps at Gloucester Point, York County runs a dual ramp at Back Creek Park, and Croaker Landing, above the Camp Peary naval reservation, serves the upper river.

Common questions

When are speckled trout and puppy drum around?

Visit Yorktown lists both as fall and winter fish in the York.

Can I fish without a boat?

Yes: the Yorktown pier, Gloucester Point Beach Park and Croaker Landing all have public fishing piers.

What are the striper rules in the York?

As of October 2026, VMRC's bay and tributary seasons run in spring and fall with a 19-to-24-inch slot and one fish per person; the dates change, so confirm before each trip.

Is fishing good at York River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Virginia Beach36 miChickahominy Lake39 miTangier Sound60 miJames River68 miRoanoke River88 miLake Anna97 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8637689 β€” Yorktown USCG Training Center
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.2476, -76.3824 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.