Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Cape · Virginia

Gloucester Point

37.25°N · 76.50°W · Cape · York River

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Best score today · 6 PM · Cobia

76/100Great
Now
5311 AM EDT
Best window
5-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 21 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score54Good
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward E
Wind4 kn SWgusts 10 · steady
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherOvercast93% cloud
Water82°FBias corrected

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

Gloucester Point

Depth
3-70 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · drop-off
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 Gloucester Point

Gloucester Point is a cape in York River, Virginia. Depth in the nearest water is 3-70 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cornwallis Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    72
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 72
    • Scup 68
    • Red drum 67

    4 kt SSWH 2:24 PM · 2.7 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Point of Rocks

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Sheepshead 69
    • Spot 67

    4 kt SSWH 2:26 PM · 2.6 ftL 9:17 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Stony Point

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Red drum 66
    • Little tunny 64

    4 kt SSWH 2:24 PM · 2.7 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Quarter Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    67
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 67
    • Red drum 66
    • Little tunny 64

    4 kt SSWH 2:24 PM · 2.7 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 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.