Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Channel · Florida

Boca Grande Channel

26.70°N · 82.29°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Cobia

82/100Great
Now
3912 AM EDT
Best window
7-10 AMFlood tide
Tide now
High1.3 ft

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 87

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 AM · now

Time12ANOW
Score39Fair
Tide1.3 ftHigh
CurrentFlood1.4 kn · toward ENE
Wind4 kn ESEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy36% cloud
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier 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
  • 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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • 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 Retention open (10 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in Florida →

Spot profile

Boca Grande Channel

Depth
10-35 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Outer · ExposedChannel · 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 Boca Grande Channel

Boca Grande Channel is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 10-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, southern flounder and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak 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.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
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

View all on map →
  • Pelican Pass

    Channel · 3.0 mi

    75
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 75
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Florida pompano 64

    4 kt ESEH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Boca Grande

    Channel · 2.1 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Common snook 70
    • Red drum 64

    4 kt ESEH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Quarantine Rocks

    Bar · 2.6 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Florida pompano 65

    4 kt ESEH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Johnson Shoals

    Bar · 3.2 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Florida pompano 65

    4 kt ESEH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft

Open in the tide map

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.