Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CobiaShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Wise Point

37.12°N · 75.97°W · Cape · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 3 AM · Cobia

45/100Good
Now
241 AM EDT
Best window
2-6 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.0 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Wise Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score24Poor
Tide1.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind19 kn NEgusts 31 · steady
Sea stateRough5.2 ft · 6 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast59% chance of rain
Water78°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.

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

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

Wise Point

Depth
3-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Wise Point

Wise Point is a cape in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is 3-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, bluefish and scup. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, Spanish mackerel and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, spotted seatrout, striped bass and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Scup peak from June through October.

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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Latimer Shoal

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    39
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 39
    • Little tunny 35
    • Spanish mackerel 35

    20 kt NEH 6:51 AM · 2.7 ftL 12:53 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Fishermans Inlet

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    37
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 37
    • Little tunny 35
    • Scup 35

    19 kt NEH 6:30 AM · 3.2 ftL 12:40 PM · 0.9 ft

  • North Channel

    Channel · 2.1 mi

    35
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 35
    • Sheepshead 35
    • Spanish mackerel 35

    19 kt NEH 6:30 AM · 3.2 ftL 12:40 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Smith Island Inlet

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    35
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 35
    • Atlantic croaker 30
    • Little tunny 30

    19 kt NEH 6:28 AM · 3.4 ftL 1:09 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.