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Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia

70/100Great

Now: 447 AM EDT
Best window: 7 AM-1 PMEbb tide
Tide now: Flooding2.7 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 83

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time7ANOW

Score44Fair

Tide2.7 ft ▲Flooding

CurrentFlood0.8 kn · toward WSW

Wind15 kn NEgusts 27 · steady

Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s

Air temp67°Mild

WeatherOvercast94% chance of rain

Water79°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

4A

5A

6A

NOW

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

3A

39

42

47

44

35

38

44

47

39

31

35

34

33

38

43

45

42

32

34

○0.1

0.5

0.8

0.4

○0.1

○0.0

0.5

0.9

0.8

0.4

○0.1

0.6

1.1

1.0

0.6

○0.2

○0.0

0.4

0.9

1.0

0.7

0.2

2715

2615

2715

2815

2914

3014

3015

3115

3015

2915

2815

2714

2613

1.8

1.9

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.2

2.1

97%

96%

95%

94%

95%

96%

97%

96%

94%

91%

88%

86%

84%

80%

72%

63%

57%

60%

63%

65%

79°

78°

79°

78°

79°

78°

Hour

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.

Always check with VMRC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Cobia in Virginia →

Spot profile

Newport News Channel

Depth: 25-50 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 Newport News Channel

Newport News Channel is a channel in James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Depth is 25-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and summer flounder. It is peak season now for spot, scup, summer flounder and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, weakfish, black sea bass and king mackerel. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Summer flounder peak from June through September.

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.
Scup: Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →

Hampton Roads
Channel · 2.2 mi
68
Top: SpotPeak season
- Spot 68
- Scup 62
- Atlantic croaker 58
12 kt NEH 7:23 AM · 2.6 ftL 1:26 PM · 0.8 ft
Newport News Middle Ground
Bar · 0.7 mi
64
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
- Spanish mackerel 64
- Spot 64
- Little tunny 59
15 kt NEH 7:52 AM · 2.8 ftL 1:54 PM · 0.6 ft
Newport News Bar
Bar · 0.9 mi
64
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
- Spanish mackerel 64
- Spot 64
- Little tunny 59
15 kt NEH 7:52 AM · 2.8 ftL 1:54 PM · 0.6 ft
Newport News Point
Cape · 1.6 mi
64
Top: SpotPeak season
- Spot 64
- Little tunny 61
- Scup 58
15 kt NEH 7:52 AM · 2.8 ftL 1:54 PM · 0.6 ft