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CobiaRetention openBar · Florida
Sandy Key Bank
25.04°N · 80.99°W · Bar · Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 3512 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding4.1 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Sandy Key Bank 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
63Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 3 kt SPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
74Water temp: 82°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.8 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
20Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)
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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Sandy Key Bank
- Depth
- About 7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · 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 Sandy Key Bank
Sandy Key Bank is a bar in Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge, Florida. Depth is about 7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, bonefish and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for bonefish, Atlantic tarpon, permit and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Bonefish peak from March through May and from October through November. 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.
- Bonefish
- Bonefish push onto shallow sand and grass flats with the rising tide to root for shrimp, crabs and clams, often in water under 2 feet deep, and fall back to channel edges and deeper flats as the tide drops. Most fish are sight cast to with a small shrimp or crab fly, a light jig or a live shrimp, which takes bright sun, light wind and a quiet approach. They are catch and release only in Florida, and in Hawaii many anglers also fish bait from shore along sand channels and reef edges.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Sandy Key Basin80
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 80
- Bonefish 79
- Common snook 78
3 kt SH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ft
- First National Bank79
Bar · 3.6 mi
Top: BonefishShoulder season- Bonefish 79
- Common snook 71
- Permit 69
3 kt SH 12:26 PM · 4.2 ftL 7:10 PM · 0.7 ft
- Rocky Channel78
Channel · 2.0 mi
Top: BonefishShoulder season- Bonefish 78
- Common snook 76
- Atlantic tarpon 70
3 kt SH 12:26 PM · 4.2 ftL 7:10 PM · 0.7 ft
- Oxfoot Bank70
Bar · 3.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 70
- Bonefish 66
- Crevalle jack 64
3 kt SH 12:26 PM · 4.2 ftL 7:10 PM · 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 FWC before you keep a fish.