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CobiaShoulder seasonChannel · Virginia
North Channel
37.11°N · 76.01°W · Channel · Chesapeake Bay from New Point Comfort to Little Creek VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 2 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 297 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when North Channel 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
47Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.4 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
11Gusts over the limit · capped at 35Wind: 20 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
55Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 77°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 5.4 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
North Channel
- Depth
- 25-30 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 North Channel
North Channel is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from New Point Comfort to Little Creek VA, Virginia. Depth is 25-30 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are bluefish, striped bass and black sea bass. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and king mackerel. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. 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.
- 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.
- Striped bass
- Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Inner Middle Ground45
Bar · 1.7 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 45
- King mackerel 33
- Striped bass 32
20 kt NEL 12:40 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:51 PM · 3.5 ft
- Fishermans Inlet43
Bay · 2.4 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 43
- Striped bass 38
- King mackerel 35
20 kt NEL 12:40 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:51 PM · 3.5 ft
- Latimer Shoal42
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 42
- King mackerel 33
- Atlantic croaker 30
19 kt NEL 12:53 PM · 0.7 ftH 7:11 PM · 3.0 ft
- Wise Point39
Cape · 2.1 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 39
- Striped bass 36
- Black sea bass 33
20 kt NEL 12:40 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:51 PM · 3.5 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.