Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Bay · Florida

Pumpkin Bay

25.91°N · 81.55°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

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Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia

82/100Great
Now
491 PM EDT
Best window
2-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.7 ft ▼

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

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score49Good
Tide3.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.7 knmodeled · toward WNW
Wind2 kn Sgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 3 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast65% chance of rain
Water85°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 today

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

Pumpkin Bay

Depth
Up to 2 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 Pumpkin Bay

Pumpkin Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is up to 2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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 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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Dismal Key Pass

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Common snook 76
    • Florida pompano 68

    2 kt SL 7:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:18 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Gator Bay

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 71

    2 kt SL 7:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:18 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Buttonwood Bay

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 71

    2 kt SL 7:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:18 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Santina Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Common snook 72
    • Florida pompano 67

    2 kt SL 7:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:18 AM · 3.5 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.