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CobiaShoulder seasonBar · Virginia
Hampton Bar
37.00°N · 76.33°W · Bar · James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 5010 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.8 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hampton Bar 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 · 10 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
78Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
84Wind: 10 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
71Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 1.8 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
41Season: 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 today
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
Hampton Bar
- Depth
- 5-15 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 Hampton Bar
Hampton Bar is a bar in James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Depth is 5-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bar, 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, little tunny and red drum, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass 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
- Entrance Reach77
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 77
- Red drum 69
- Atlantic croaker 68
10 kt ENEL 1:25 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:24 AM · 2.6 ft
- Cedar Point75
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 75
- Spot 70
- Little tunny 69
10 kt ENEL 1:25 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:24 AM · 2.6 ft
- Hampton Flats74
Flat · 1.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Spot 72
- Summer flounder 64
10 kt ENEL 1:25 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:24 AM · 2.6 ft
- Old Point Comfort71
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 71
- Little tunny 69
- Red drum 67
10 kt ENEL 1:25 AM · 0.6 ftH 7:24 AM · 2.6 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.