Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Channel · Florida

Bushstake Gap

29.01°N · 82.79°W · Channel · Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia

77/100Great
Now
4012 PM EDT
Best window
12-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High3.5 ft

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Fri · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score40Fair
Tide3.5 ftHigh
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward W
Wind6 kn NNEgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 4 s
Air temp86°Hot
WeatherMostly cloudy70% cloud
Water86°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 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 (5 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

Bushstake Gap

Depth
4-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Outer · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Bushstake Gap

Bushstake Gap is a channel in Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 4-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March 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.
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.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Grassy Creek

    Gut · 2.2 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Florida pompano 62
    • Red drum 59

    6 kt NNEL 7:59 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:28 AM · 3.1 ft

  • East Pass

    Channel · 2.8 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 62
    • Florida pompano 62

    6 kt NNEL 7:59 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:28 AM · 3.1 ft

  • Withlacoochee Reefs

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Red drum 59

    6 kt NNEL 7:59 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:28 AM · 3.1 ft

  • Withlacoochee Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Red drum 55

    6 kt NNEL 7:59 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:28 AM · 3.1 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.