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CobiaShoulder seasonChannel · Virginia
The Straits
37.47°N · 75.70°W · Channel · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 309 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 AM-12 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when The Straits 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 · 9 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
90Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
39Wind: 16 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
54Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 70°F, primeLight: MorningSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.7 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: 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
The Straits
- Depth
- Up to 8 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 The Straits
The Straits is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is up to 8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are summer flounder, sheepshead and black sea bass. It is peak season now for summer flounder, sheepshead, little tunny and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for black sea bass, striped bass, bluefish and king mackerel. Summer flounder peak from June through September. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Black sea bass peak from May through June 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.
- Summer flounder
- Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- North Inlet64
Gut · 1.2 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 64
- Summer flounder 60
- Bluefish 58
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft
- Little Camp Channel58
Channel · 1.6 mi
Top: SheepsheadPeak season- Sheepshead 58
- Summer flounder 58
- Black sea bass 56
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft
- Sandy Island Bay56
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Summer flounderPeak season- Summer flounder 56
- Bluefish 55
- Little tunny 55
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 ft
- Hodges Narrows54
Gut · 1.4 mi
Top: Black sea bassShoulder season- Black sea bass 54
- Striped bass 52
- Bluefish 48
16 kt NEL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 4.7 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.