Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Bay · Florida

Card Sound

25.33°N · 80.31°W · Bay · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia

83/100Great
Now
351 AM EDT
Best window
7-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score35Fair
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward NW
Wind5 kn NEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherOvercast96% cloud
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 (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 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 Check regulations
  • 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 7 weeks

Cobia season by week of the year. Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 7 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in Florida

Spot profile

Card Sound

Depth
About 10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Card Sound

Card Sound is a bay in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is about 10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, 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

  • Middle Creek

    Gut · 2.3 mi

    75
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 75
    • Atlantic tarpon 73
    • Crevalle jack 69

    5 kt NEH 5:02 AM · 1.0 ftL 11:31 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Linderman Creek

    Gut · 2.5 mi

    75
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 75
    • Atlantic tarpon 73
    • Crevalle jack 69

    5 kt NEH 5:02 AM · 1.0 ftL 11:31 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Card Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic tarpon 63
    • Crevalle jack 61

    5 kt NEH 4:38 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:44 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Wednesday Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Atlantic tarpon 61
    • Crevalle jack 59

    5 kt NEH 4:25 AM · 0.8 ftL 11:34 AM · 0.4 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.