Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CobiaRetention open

Bar · Florida

Biscayne Flats

25.64°N · 80.17°W · Bar · Biscayne Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · Cobia

76/100Great
Now
411 AM EST
Best window
4-8 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.2 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Biscayne Flats scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score41Fair
Tide2.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward W
Wind6 kn ESEgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.9 ft · 5 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast98% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

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 (50 per day)
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • 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 Check regulations
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • 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

Shoulder season for Cobia · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in Florida →

Spot profile

Biscayne Flats

Depth
5-20 ftSlope
Structure
Flat · Outer · ExposedFlat · slope
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 Biscayne Flats

Biscayne Flats is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 5-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads flat, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, black drum and Spanish mackerel. Red drum peak from October through February. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.

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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Biscayne Channel

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Red drum 65
    • Crevalle jack 61

    6 kt ESEH 2:19 AM · 2.4 ftL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Cape Florida Anchorage

    Channel · 2.0 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Red drum 65
    • Crevalle jack 63

    6 kt ESEH 2:19 AM · 2.4 ftL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Cape Florida Channel

    Channel · 2.6 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Red drum 65
    • Crevalle jack 61

    6 kt ESEH 2:19 AM · 2.4 ftL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Cape Florida

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Red drum 62
    • Crevalle jack 59

    6 kt ESEH 2:19 AM · 2.4 ftL 8:47 AM · 0.5 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.