Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Channel · Florida

Content Passage

24.79°N · 81.48°W · Channel · Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge

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Best score today · 8 AM · Cobia

78/100Great
Now
302 AM EDT
Best window
7-11 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 AM · now

Time2ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide2.8 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind10 kn SEgusts 16 · easing
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp82°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy57% chance of rain
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)

IN EFFECT NOW

Cobia

Retention open
Daily limit
1 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 36 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
1 per person or 2 per vessel, whichever is less. Spears, gigs, hook and line, seine or cast net.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Cobia, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
  • Crevalle jack Retention open
  • Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
  • Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Check regulations
  • Permit Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
  • Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Catch & release (No retention)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks

Cobia season by week of the year. Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in Florida

Spot profile

Content Passage

Depth
3-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Off 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 Content Passage

Content Passage is a channel in Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge, Florida. Depth is 3-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, gray snapper, red drum and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.

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.
Common snook
Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Harbor Channel

    Channel · 3.1 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 64
    • Crevalle jack 62

    10 kt SEL 6:06 AM · 1.5 ftH 11:33 AM · 4.2 ft

  • Cudjoe Channel

    Channel · 4.8 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 65
    • Crevalle jack 63

    10 kt SEL 6:56 AM · 0.5 ftH 10:51 AM · 3.1 ft

  • Cutoe Bank

    Bar · 3.4 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Crevalle jack 56
    • Atlantic tarpon 56

    10 kt SEL 6:06 AM · 1.5 ftH 11:33 AM · 4.2 ft

  • Turtlecrawl Bank

    Bar · 5.2 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Crevalle jack 56
    • Atlantic tarpon 56

    10 kt SEL 6:06 AM · 1.5 ftH 11:33 AM · 4.2 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 FWC before you keep a fish.