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CobiaRetention openBay · Florida
Pilot Cove
29.60°N · 85.02°W · Bay · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum67
- Atlantic croaker64
- Atlantic tarpon58
- Florida pompano58
- Gray snapper58
- Spanish mackerel58
- Southern flounder56
- Black drum55
- Crevalle jack55
- Permit54
- Gag grouper53
- King mackerel52
- Gray triggerfish49
- Red grouper49
- Red snapper49
- Cobia48
- Spotted seatrout48
- Yellowfin tuna47
- Sailfish46
- Greater amberjack43
- Mahi-mahi41
- Wahoo41
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 6 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 4810 AM EDT
- Best window
- 3-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pilot Cove 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
54Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 8 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.3 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
57Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of 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 Retention open (1 per day)
- 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
Pilot Cove
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Pilot Cove
Pilot Cove is a bay in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and southern flounder. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Horseshoe Cove64
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Red drum 64
- Florida pompano 58
8 kt ENEH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ftL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ft
- Higgins Shoal64
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Red drum 64
- Florida pompano 58
8 kt ENEH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ftL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ft
- Cape Saint George64
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Red drum 64
- Spanish mackerel 61
8 kt ENEH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ftL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ft
- Cape Saint George Shoal64
Bar · 3.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Red drum 64
- Florida pompano 58
8 kt ENEH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ftL 9:03 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.