Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Virginia

Grace Point

37.69°N · 76.35°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 6 PM · Cobia

81/100Great
Now
627 AM EDT
Best window
4-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score62Good
Tide1.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind4 kn Wgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy23% cloud
Water80°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

Grace Point

Depth
Up to 15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Grace Point

Grace Point is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is up to 15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, little tunny and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, little tunny, red drum and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, striped bass, cobia and spotted seatrout. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Red drum peak in May and from September 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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Arthur Cove

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    78
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 78
    • Red drum 76
    • Spanish mackerel 74

    4 kt WL 10:46 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:01 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Pitman Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    77
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 77
    • Red drum 76
    • Spanish mackerel 73

    4 kt WL 10:46 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:01 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Waverly Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    77
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 77
    • Red drum 76
    • Spanish mackerel 74

    4 kt WL 10:46 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:01 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Bluff Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Little tunny 71
    • Red drum 71

    4 kt WL 10:46 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:01 PM · 1.5 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.