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CobiaShoulder seasonBar · Virginia
Wolf Trap
37.40°N · 76.19°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 4 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 311 AM EDT
- Best window
- 3-7 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Wolf Trap 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
Wednesday, Sep 30 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.1 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
81Wind: 1 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
88Water temp: 71°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
34Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
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
Wolf Trap
- Depth
- 20-25 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · slope
- 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 Wolf Trap
Wolf Trap is a bar in Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, Virginia. Depth is 20-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are bluefish, Spanish mackerel and little tunny. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, little tunny, spot and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and king mackerel. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Little tunny peak 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.
- 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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Winter Harbor58
Bay · 3.6 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 58
- Red drum 57
- Sheepshead 52
11 kt NEH 7:21 AM · 1.7 ftL 1:58 PM · 0.6 ft
- Sage Point58
Cape · 6.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 58
- Spot 57
- Bluefish 56
11 kt NEL 3:20 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:59 AM · 1.3 ft
- Horn Harbor51
Bay · 5.3 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 51
- Sheepshead 45
- Spanish mackerel 45
15 kt NEH 7:06 AM · 2.5 ftL 1:28 PM · 0.6 ft
- Mill Point44
Cape · 5.3 mi
Top: Little tunnyPeak season- Little tunny 44
- Spot 43
- Bluefish 42
15 kt NEH 7:06 AM · 2.5 ftL 1:28 PM · 0.6 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.