Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Channel · Florida

Saint Augustine Inlet

29.91°N · 81.29°W · Channel · Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM

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Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia

82/100Great
Now
5811 AM EDT
Best window
3 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score58Good
Tide1.5 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSE
Wind8 kn NEgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp83°Hot
WeatherMostly cloudy49% chance of rain
Water83°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade 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 (50 per day)
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 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 Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • 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

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

Saint Augustine Inlet

Depth
6-35 ftSlope
Structure
Inlet · Outer · Semi-exposedInlet · 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 Saint Augustine Inlet

Saint Augustine Inlet is a channel in Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 6-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack and spot. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack, spot and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, black drum, black sea bass and little tunny. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. Spot peak 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.
Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Devils Elbow

    Bend · 12 mi

    82
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 82
    • Spot 77
    • Crevalle jack 76

    8 kt NNEL 1:42 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:57 PM · 4.8 ft

  • Murat Point

    Cape · 9.6 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Spot 76
    • Crevalle jack 75

    8 kt NNEL 1:42 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:57 PM · 4.8 ft

  • Vilano Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Crevalle jack 74
    • Spot 73

    8 kt NEL 12:35 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:01 PM · 4.9 ft

  • French Cape

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Crevalle jack 74
    • Spot 73

    8 kt NEL 12:35 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:01 PM · 4.9 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.