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CobiaShoulder seasonGut · Virginia
Rock Gut
37.86°N · 75.67°W · Gut · Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 435 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-7 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Rock Gut 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
54Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
38Wind: 17 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
87Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.4 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
41Season: 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 today
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
Rock Gut
- Depth
- 2-5 ftFlat bottom
- 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 Rock Gut
Rock Gut is a gut in Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Virginia. Depth is 2-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for scup, spot, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for weakfish, Atlantic croaker, spotted seatrout and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Brewer Gut58
Gut · 1.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 58
- Spot 56
- Summer flounder 56
17 kt NEH 10:20 PM · 2.5 ftL 5:09 AM · 0.7 ft
- Sandy Point57
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 57
- Scup 54
- Spanish mackerel 51
17 kt NEH 10:12 PM · 2.6 ftL 5:05 AM · 0.7 ft
- Poulson Point56
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 56
- Scup 54
- Spot 52
17 kt NEH 10:20 PM · 2.5 ftL 5:09 AM · 0.7 ft
- Annis Point56
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 56
- Scup 53
- Spanish mackerel 51
17 kt NEH 10:20 PM · 2.5 ftL 5:09 AM · 0.7 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.