Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Virginia

Hebden Cove

36.87°N · 76.10°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

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Best score today · 12 AM · Cobia

65/100Great
Now
352 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.7 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind20 kn NEgusts 34 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherOvercast98% chance of rain
Water77°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Cobia in Virginia

Spot profile

Hebden Cove

Depth
Up to 3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
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 Hebden Cove

Hebden Cove is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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

  • Log House Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    35
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 35
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35

    20 kt NEL 3:25 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:51 PM · 2.2 ft

  • Witch Duck Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    35
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 35
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35

    20 kt NEL 3:17 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:41 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Church Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35
    • King mackerel 35

    20 kt NEL 3:17 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:41 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Keeling Cove

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    35
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 35
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35

    20 kt NEL 3:17 PM · 0.6 ftH 8:41 PM · 2.0 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.