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CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook74
- Spanish mackerel71
- Gray snapper70
- Red drum70
- Florida pompano69
- Atlantic croaker68
- Atlantic tarpon63
- Black drum63
- Crevalle jack62
- Gag grouper60
- King mackerel60
- Southern flounder60
- Permit59
- Gray triggerfish58
- Red grouper57
- Red snapper57
- Greater amberjack55
- Cobia53
- Spotted seatrout53
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 537 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-10 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when South Banks 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
87Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.7 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 7 kt ESEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
67Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
South Banks
- Depth
- 1-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bar · Outer · ExposedBar · 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 South Banks
South Banks is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 1-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Spanish mackerel and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Foster Bay80
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 80
- Atlantic croaker 76
- Gray snapper 76
7 kt ESEH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ft
- Pine Island Sound78
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Gray snapper 74
- Red drum 74
7 kt ESEH 11:34 AM · 2.3 ftL 6:20 PM · 0.5 ft
- Foster Point76
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Gray snapper 72
- Red drum 71
7 kt ESEH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ft
- Chadwick Bayou74
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Common snook 71
- Atlantic croaker 70
7 kt ESEH 11:43 AM · 2.3 ftL 7:14 PM · 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.