Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Channel · Virginia

Green Straits

37.91°N · 75.88°W · Channel · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA

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Best score today · 2 AM · Cobia

77/100Great
Now
3810 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.9 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Oct 3 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score35Fair
Tide1.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.1 kn · toward NNW
Wind4 kn SSEgusts 12 · steady
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherOvercast98% cloud
Water71°FPersisted

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

Green Straits

Depth
1-3 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 Green Straits

Green Straits is a channel in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, scup, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, weakfish, striped bass and black sea bass. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June 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.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Green Straits

    Channel · 0.0 mi

    68
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 68
    • Scup 66
    • Red drum 61

    14 kt NEH 10:37 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:18 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Cedar Straits

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    68
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 68
    • Scup 66
    • Red drum 61

    14 kt NEH 10:37 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:18 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Cedar Straits

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    68
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 68
    • Scup 66
    • Red drum 61

    14 kt NEH 10:37 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:18 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Cedar Island Creek

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Scup 66
    • Red drum 61

    14 kt NEH 10:37 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:18 AM · 0.3 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.