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CobiaShoulder seasonChannel · Virginia
Hampton Roads
36.98°N · 76.35°W · Channel · James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 4 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 5011 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hampton Roads 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 · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.1 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
46Wind: 13 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 2.4 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
Hampton Roads
- Depth
- 30-50 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Roads
Hampton Roads is a channel in James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Depth is 30-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, summer flounder and red drum. It is peak season now for spot, summer flounder, red drum and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for black sea bass, weakfish, Atlantic croaker and bluefish. Spot peak from August through October. Summer flounder peak from June through September. Red drum peak in May and 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.
- 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.
- Summer flounder
- Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Hampton Flats70
Flat · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Summer flounder 66
- Spanish mackerel 64
13 kt NEL 1:35 PM · 0.6 ftH 7:41 PM · 2.9 ft
- Sewells Point Spit70
Bar · 1.8 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 70
- Little tunny 69
- Summer flounder 66
13 kt NEL 1:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:40 PM · 2.9 ft
- Entrance Reach70
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 70
- Summer flounder 67
- Red drum 65
13 kt NEL 1:35 PM · 0.6 ftH 7:41 PM · 2.9 ft
- Hampton Bar69
Bar · 1.7 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 69
- Little tunny 66
- Summer flounder 65
13 kt NEL 1:35 PM · 0.6 ftH 7:41 PM · 2.9 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.