Cobia Rachycentron canadum

0 of 4worth the trip today

Out of season or closed at every spot today. Water is inside the 68–85° range cobia like at 0 of the 4 spots with a live reading.

Go 0Worth the trip 0Marginal 0Sit it out 0Click to zoom in, drag to move, right-click to zoom out

Where cobia score best right now

About cobia

Hard-fighting, eel-bodied predator of warm Atlantic and Gulf waters — looks a bit like a shark from above. A summer sight-casting target around buoys, markers, and wrecks: cast bucktails or live eels to cruising fish, or chunk at anchor over structure.

Around the Chesapeake. Channel markers, navigation buoys, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel; VA is the mid-Atlantic hot spot for cobia.

Rachycentron canadum, family Rachycentridae.

Cobia, spot by spot

Cobia are out of season or closed at every spot today.

Not scored today

4 other spots where people fish for cobia: 4 closed to cobia or out of season today.

Buckroe BeachVA Cape Charles Town PierVA Chincoteague NWR — Fishing AccessVA Kiptopeke State ParkVA

The water they want

Cobia feed from about 68° to 85°F and best near 76°. Each pin is one spot’s water right now, from NOAA and USGS gauges; 0 of 4 are inside the range.

ideal 76°

68°85°

How they feed

Water68–85°F, best near 76°
TideEither, as long as it moves
MoonEither
DepthUsually 10–80 ft

Scored against their own temperature range and tide preference first, then wind, weather and warnings. Solunar periods only break ties. How the score works

Season by state

VirginiaJun–Sep

The Maryland, Delaware and Virginia months are the Chesapeake-region season. Everywhere else it is carried over by water temperature: a month counts at a spot when its usual water is in the range that marks the mid-Atlantic season (71°F and warmer), from the spot’s own gauge where it has one and an estimate from air temperature where it doesn’t. Each state lists the months that hold at half or more of its spots. Where the water temperatures come from.

Keep or release

Virginia tidal (VMRC)43" minimum · 1 a dayVirginia tidal waters: 43" minimum, 1 a person or 2 a boat, whichever is less, Jun 15–Sep 20. No gaffing or towing.Atlantic waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
Virginia tidal (VMRC)43" minimum · 1 a dayVirginia tidal waters: 43" minimum, 1 a person or 2 a boat, whichever is less, Jun 15–Sep 20. No gaffing or towing.Tidal bay waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source

Rules change, and they differ by state and often by water. Each spot page shows the limits for its own water. Cobia are fished at spots in 1 state: Virginia.