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CobiaShoulder seasonBay · Virginia
Great Machipongo Inlet
37.37°N · 75.72°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 305 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5 AM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding3.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Great Machipongo Inlet scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 5 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
87Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.1 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
12Wind over the limit · capped at 30Wind: 30 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
35Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 72°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 5.7 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
65Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Cobia 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 Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Great Machipongo Inlet
- Depth
- 5-70 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Inlet · Outer · ExposedInlet · drop-off
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCobia
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 Great Machipongo Inlet
Great Machipongo Inlet is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is 5-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, black sea bass, bluefish and cobia. Atlantic croaker peak from June through August. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Cobia
- Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- Black sea bass
- Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Middle Channel46
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: Striped bassShoulder season- Striped bass 46
- Black sea bass 44
- Bluefish 44
17 kt NEH 6:41 AM · 3.8 ftL 12:36 PM · 0.8 ft
- Heather Channel46
Channel · 2.1 mi
Top: Striped bassShoulder season- Striped bass 46
- Black sea bass 44
- Bluefish 44
17 kt NEH 6:41 AM · 3.8 ftL 12:36 PM · 0.8 ft
- North Channel30
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 30
- Black drum 30
- Black sea bass 30
30 kt NEH 6:41 AM · 3.8 ftL 12:36 PM · 0.8 ft
- Second Channel30
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 30
- Black drum 30
- Black sea bass 30
30 kt NEH 6:41 AM · 3.8 ftL 12:36 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.