Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CobiaRetention open

Bay · Florida

Smokehouse Bay

26.68°N · 82.11°W · Bay · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 PM · Cobia

79/100Great
Now
451 AM EDT
Best window
4-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.6 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Smokehouse Bay scores 75+

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

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 83

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score45Good
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward E
Wind4 kn SEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy44% 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

Smokehouse Bay

Depth
About 3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
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 Smokehouse Bay

Smokehouse Bay is a bay in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is about 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, red drum and common snook. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, permit and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Sand Creek

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 68
    • Common snook 67

    4 kt SEL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ftH 12:40 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Big Dead Creek

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 68
    • Common snook 67

    4 kt SEL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ftH 12:40 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Buzzard Bay

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 68
    • Common snook 67

    4 kt SEL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ftH 12:40 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Jug Creek Point Shoal

    Bar · 2.6 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Common snook 65
    • Florida pompano 60

    4 kt SEL 5:12 AM · 1.1 ftH 11:42 AM · 1.9 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.