Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Virginia

Carter Cove

37.66°N · 76.44°W · Bay · Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point

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Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia

81/100Great
Now
536 PM EDT
Best window
6-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.0 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 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score53Good
Tide1.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind12 kn NEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherOvercast84% chance of rain
Water79°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.

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

Carter Cove

Depth
Up to 6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Carter Cove

Carter Cove is a bay in Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point, Virginia. Depth is up to 6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, Spanish mackerel and scup. It is peak season now for spot, Spanish mackerel, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, Atlantic croaker, black sea bass and king mackerel. Spot peak from August through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September. Scup peak from June 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.
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

  • Calf Pasture Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 63

    12 kt NEH 9:35 PM · 1.5 ftL 4:21 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Sloop Landing Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 64
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    12 kt NEH 9:35 PM · 1.5 ftL 4:21 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Crab Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 64
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    12 kt NEH 9:35 PM · 1.5 ftL 4:21 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Galley Hook Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Spot 64
    • Spanish mackerel 62

    12 kt NEH 9:35 PM · 1.5 ftL 4:21 AM · 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.