Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Virginia

Horn Harbor

37.36°N · 76.28°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 PM · Cobia

68/100Great
Now
331 AM EDT
Best window
4-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.6 ft

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

Notify me when Horn Harbor scores 75+

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

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 84

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score33Fair
Tide0.6 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward S
Wind15 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast99% chance of rain
Water79°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.

Always check with VMRC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Horn Harbor

Depth
4-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Horn Harbor

Horn Harbor is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, Virginia. Depth is 4-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for spot, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel and scup, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, king mackerel and striped bass. Spot peak from August through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.

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.
Sheepshead
Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Winter Harbor

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    58
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 58
    • Red drum 57
    • Sheepshead 52

    11 kt NEL 1:48 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:21 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Deep Creek

    Channel · 3.6 mi

    48
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 48
    • Red drum 45
    • Scup 41

    15 kt NEL 1:18 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:06 AM · 2.5 ft

  • New Point Comfort

    Cape · 4.0 mi

    45
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 45
    • Spot 42
    • Bluefish 40

    15 kt NEL 1:18 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:06 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Mill Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    44
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 44
    • Spot 43
    • Bluefish 42

    15 kt NEL 1:18 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:06 AM · 2.5 ft

Open in the tide map

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.