Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CobiaShoulder season

Bar · Virginia

Wolf Trap

37.40°N · 76.19°W · Bar · Chesapeake Bay from Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia

75/100Great
Now
464 PM EDT
Best window
4-6 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.3 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.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score46Good
Tide1.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward S
Wind12 kn ENEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 4 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% 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.

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

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 Spanish mackerel, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, spot, little tunny and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, king mackerel and Atlantic croaker. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Spot peak from August through October. 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.
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.
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

  • Horn Harbor

    Bay · 5.3 mi

    74
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 74
    • Sheepshead 70
    • Spanish mackerel 68

    13 kt ENEH 6:41 PM · 2.7 ftL 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Winter Harbor

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    71
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 71
    • Sheepshead 67
    • Red drum 65

    12 kt ENEH 6:56 PM · 1.9 ftL 1:48 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Mill Point

    Cape · 5.3 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 66
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    13 kt ENEH 6:41 PM · 2.7 ftL 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Sage Point

    Cape · 6.3 mi

    58
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 58
    • Spanish mackerel 56
    • Spot 56

    12 kt ENEH 8:34 PM · 1.4 ftL 3:20 AM · 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.