Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Jail Point

37.08°N · 76.55°W · Cape · James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge

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Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia

67/100Great
Now
446 AM EDT
Best window
6 AM-2 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.0 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

Time6ANOW
Score44Fair
Tide2.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward NW
Wind15 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Air temp68°Mild
WeatherOvercast95% chance of rain
Water78°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.

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

Jail Point

Depth
2-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Jail Point

Jail Point is a cape in James River from Jamestown to the James River Bridge, Virginia. Depth is 2-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are red drum, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for red drum, spot, little tunny and summer flounder, and shoulder season for spotted seatrout, bluefish, black sea bass and Atlantic croaker. Red drum peak in May and from September through October. 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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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

  • Thorofare

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    68
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 68
    • Red drum 60
    • Scup 60

    15 kt NEH 8:26 AM · 2.8 ftL 2:45 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Swash Hole

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Scup 60
    • Red drum 59

    15 kt NEH 8:55 AM · 2.3 ftL 3:09 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Blunt Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    63
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 63
    • Little tunny 62
    • Spot 61

    15 kt NEH 8:26 AM · 2.8 ftL 2:45 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Curtis Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    62
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 62
    • Little tunny 60
    • Red drum 55

    15 kt NEH 8:26 AM · 2.8 ftL 2:45 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.