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SpotPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Spot
- Now
- 681 PM EDT
- Best window
- 3-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cornwallis Cove 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
Thursday, Oct 1 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 4 kt EPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
96Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Spot
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Spot 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 Spot is best here
Peak season for Spot · 4 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Cornwallis Cove
- Depth
- 3-80 ftDrop-off
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · drop-off
- Season
- Peak seasonSpot
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 Cornwallis Cove
Cornwallis Cove is a bay in York River, Virginia. Depth is 3-80 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for spot, scup, Spanish mackerel and summer flounder, and shoulder season for black sea bass, Atlantic croaker, king mackerel and cobia. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Spanish mackerel peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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
- Point of Rocks63
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 63
- Spot 62
- Sheepshead 60
7 kt NEH 6:15 PM · 2.4 ftL 12:44 AM · 0.7 ft
- Gloucester Point62
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: ScupPeak season- Scup 62
- Spot 61
- Little tunny 59
7 kt NEH 6:16 PM · 2.5 ftL 12:41 AM · 0.7 ft
- Stony Point62
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 62
- Little tunny 59
- Spanish mackerel 59
7 kt NEH 6:16 PM · 2.5 ftL 12:41 AM · 0.7 ft
- Quarter Point61
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: SpotPeak season- Spot 61
- Little tunny 59
- Spanish mackerel 59
7 kt NEH 6:16 PM · 2.5 ftL 12:41 AM · 0.7 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.