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Where to fish

  • Forecast
  • Catches

Mine

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Forecast
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© 2026·AI-powered bite forecast
0.1.0+2161 · b4069346

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United States / Virginia / Rappahannock River

Bite forecast: Rappahannock River

  • length 159 mi
Loading map…

Best fishing days for the next week

  1. MondaySeptember 7weather-based forecast
    52/100medium activity

    Partly cloudy: 52–79 °F

Nearby rivers

  • Mountain Run8 mi

Nearby water bodies

  • ReservoirBrandy Rock Farm Lake3 mi
  • ReservoirSwan Dam6 mi
  • ReservoirSouth Wales Country Club Lake6 mi
  • LakeBenzinger Pond7 mi
  • ReservoirGermantown Lake8 mi

Rappahannock River (Virginia) — a spot well known among anglers. About 256 km long. Close by — Fredericksburg and Culpeper. Here you'll find a bite prediction — when fish are active and which hours give the best chances, adjusted for weather and pressure.

TuesdaySeptember 8weather-based forecast
52/100medium activity

Partly cloudy: 57–84 °F

  • ThursdaySeptember 3weather-based forecast
    49/100medium activity

    Clear: 75–91 °F

  • Nearby towns

    • Fredericksburg0.1 mi
    • Culpeper10 mi
    Loading map…

    Catches

    Recorded 11 catches here. Most commonly caught: Largemouth bass, Smallmouth bass, Blue catfish. Peak season: year-round.

    • Blue catfish — Rappahannock River, Feb 17, 2018
      4
      Blue catfish
      Rappahannock River
      45 °F7 mph
      Feb 17, 2018
    • Blue catfish — Rappahannock River, Nov 25, 2017
      4
      Blue catfish
      Rappahannock River
      55 °F7 mph
      Nov 25, 2017
    • Largemouth bass
      Rappahannock River
      81 °F2 mph
      Aug 13, 2018
    • Largemouth bass
      Rappahannock River
      75 °F4 mph
      Jul 22, 2018
    • Smallmouth bass
      Rappahannock River
      86 °F2 mph
      Jun 20, 2018, 1:42 PM
    • Largemouth bass
      Rappahannock River
      41 °F2 mph
      Mar 27, 2018
    • Smallmouth bass
      Rappahannock River
      43 °F9 mph
      Mar 08, 2018
    • Striped bass
      Rappahannock River
      45 °F16 mph
      Mar 03, 2018

    Bite calendar

    7–Sep 13
    Mon
    Tue
    Wed
    Thu
    Fri
    Sat
    Sun
    Bite activity:highmediumlowslow
    Based on:weatherseasonal
    What is a bite calendar?
    Smallmouth bassStriped bassWalleyeWhite bassBrook troutBlack crappieWhite crappieBlue catfishBluegillCarpChannel catfishLargemouth bassRainbow troutFlathead catfishSpotted bass

    Black crappie

    6/10 · Fair

    Hourly activity

    0:006:0012:0018:0023:00
    Bite activity:highmediumlow

    The bite is strong — fish are active. Pressure is rising — activity tends to be more subdued.

    Peak bite hours

    Best time — 06:00–08:00 (dawn bite) and 19:00–21:00 (dusk bite).

    Tactics

    Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.

    Lures

    In clear water, natural colors work best: small jig or minnow bait.

    Gear

    It's a hot day — a hat, sunglasses, and plenty of water are a must.

    Summary

    Worth going — it's a productive day.

    How this forecast is calculated

    Why this forecast

    The computed water temperature is around 67 °F — inside the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie, so baseline activity is high.

    Computed water temperature by month; the green band is the 57–75 °F comfort rangecomfort 57–75 °F67 °F
    JFMAMJJASOND

    Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.

    The day: daylight hours and when Black crappie feeds0:0012:0024:00

    Pressure is flat: it moves no more than 0.00 inHg over the day, so the weather isn't shifting today's bite.

    Pressure through the day, 0.00 inHg change
    00:00 · 30.1023:00 · 30.09 inHg

    One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.

    Feeding windows on the day scale0:0012:0024:00

    September is an active season for Black crappie here.

    JFMAMJJASOND

    These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works

    7 SepMonday, September 7
    +74°

    Partly cloudy · feels like +74°

    Low / high
    +51°…+78°
    Precipitation
    0.00 in
    Wind
    7 mph S
    Cloud cover
    73%
    Humidity
    51%
    Pressure
    30.10 inHg
    00:00+55°—1 mphnorth wind, 1 mph72%41%
    01:00+54°—1 mphsouthwest wind, 1 mph75%49%
    02:00+53°—2 mphsouthwest wind, 2 mph77%57%
    03:00+52°—2 mphsouthwest wind, 2 mph80%64%
    04:00+51°—2 mphsouth wind, 2 mph83%71%
    05:00+51°—1 mphsouth wind, 1 mph84%77%
    06:00+52°—1 mphsouth wind, 1 mph84%80%
    07:00+53°—1 mphsouth wind, 1 mph83%82%
    08:00+55°—1 mphsouth wind, 1 mph79%83%
    09:00+60°—2 mphsouth wind, 2 mph72%85%
    10:00+65°—4 mphsouth wind, 4 mph63%88%
    11:00+70°—6 mphsouth wind, 6 mph55%85%
    12:00+74°—7 mphsouth wind, 7 mph51%73%
    13:00+76°—9 mphsouth wind, 9 mph48%56%
    14:00+78°—10 mphsouth wind, 10 mph47%46%
    15:00+78°—9 mphsouth wind, 9 mph48%51%
    16:00+77°—7 mphsouth wind, 7 mph50%63%
    17:00+76°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph52%73%
    18:00+75°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph55%74%
    19:00+73°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph57%73%
    20:00+71°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph60%74%
    21:00+70°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph62%82%
    22:00+69°—4 mphsouth wind, 4 mph64%92%
    23:00+68°—3 mphsoutheast wind, 3 mph66%100%
    +78°+65°+51°
    Weather throughout the day
    0:006:0012:0018:0023:00

    Sun and moon

    Monday, September 7
    The day: daylight and the hours the moon is above the horizon. Local time0:0012:0024:00
    DaylightMoon above the horizon
    Sunrise
    06:52
    Sunset
    19:37
    Day length
    12 h 45 min
    Sunshine hours
    12 h 3 min
    UV index
    6
    high
    Moon
    Waning crescent
    Moonrise
    02:26
    Moonset
    17:41

    The day is 2 min shorter than yesterday.

    Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.

    Solunar feeding periods

    +11% in the windowMonday, September 7
    Feeding windows on the day scale, local time0:0012:0024:00
    Major periodsMinor periods
    • Minor01:56–02:56Moonrise
    • Major09:09–11:09Moon overhead
    • Minor17:11–18:11Moonset
    • Major21:38–23:38Moon underfoot

    The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.

    What are solunar periods?

    BiteGuide·From anglers’ reports

    What actually worked on this water

    Based on 11 verified catchesPeriod: 2017–2018

    This is a summary of anglers' reports, not a proven cause of the bite: conditions lining up does not mean they drove it.

    By fish species

    vertical axis — number of catches

    024
    4421
    Largemouth bassSmallmouth bassBlue catfishStriped bass
    By fish species
    ValueCatchesShare
    Largemouth bass436%
    Smallmouth bass436%
    Blue catfish218%
    Striped bass19%

    By month

    vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    2311121
    FebMarJunJulAugNovDec
    By month
    ValueCatchesShare
    Feb218%
    Mar327%
    Jun19%
    Jul19%
    Aug19%
    Nov218%
    Dec19%

    Air temperature, °F

    vertical axis — number of catches

    035
    53111
    4150687786
    Air temperature, °F
    ValueCatchesShare
    41–48 °F545%
    50–57 °F327%
    68–75 °F19%
    77–84 °F19%
    86–93 °F19%

    Pressure, inHg

    vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    131231
    29.5329.7229.9230.1230.3130.51
    Pressure, inHg
    ValueCatchesShare
    29.53–29.69 inHg19%
    29.72–29.88 inHg327%
    29.92–30.08 inHg19%
    30.12–30.28 inHg218%
    30.31–30.47 inHg327%
    30.51–30.67 inHg19%

    Wind direction

    vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    1121312
    NESESSWWNW
    Wind direction
    ValueCatchesShare
    N19%
    E19%
    SE218%
    S19%
    SW327%
    W19%
    NW218%

    Wind speed, mph

    vertical axis — number of catches

    024
    4421
    04913
    Wind speed, mph
    ValueCatchesShare
    0–2 mph436%
    4–7 mph436%
    9–11 mph218%
    13–16 mph19%

    Measured river conditions are available for Rappahannock River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.

    Water

    Gauge height
    2.76 ft
    Streamflow
    88.2 ft³/s

    USGS gauge RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER AT REMINGTON, VA, 5 mi away · measured 2026-09-02 09:15 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision