UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
CobiaShoulder seasonBar · Virginia
Brown Shoal
37.01°N · 76.47°W · Bar · James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 373 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Brown Shoal 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 · 3 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
64Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
36Wind: 15 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
60Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.8 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: 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 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
Brown Shoal
- Depth
- 7-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · 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 Brown Shoal
Brown Shoal is a bar in James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge, Virginia. Depth is 7-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, Spanish mackerel and bluefish. It is peak season now for spot, Spanish mackerel, red drum and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, Atlantic croaker and weakfish. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.
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.
- 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
- Blunt Point59
Cape · 4.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 59
- Spot 50
- Summer flounder 50
15 kt NEH 8:26 AM · 2.8 ftL 2:45 PM · 0.6 ft
- Batten Bay58
Bay · 5.7 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 58
- Red drum 53
- Scup 51
15 kt NEH 8:05 AM · 2.7 ftL 2:06 PM · 0.6 ft
- Newport News Point57
Cape · 4.7 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 57
- Little tunny 56
- Red drum 55
15 kt NEH 7:52 AM · 2.8 ftL 1:54 PM · 0.6 ft
- Newport News Bar54
Bar · 5.2 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 54
- Spanish mackerel 52
- Bluefish 51
15 kt NEH 7:52 AM · 2.8 ftL 1:54 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.