UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 2911 PM CDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMNight bite
- Tide now
- Low0.4 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Motes Point 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 · 11 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
22Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
85Wind: 1 kt NWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
35Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
43Season: 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 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 today
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
Motes Point
- Depth
- 1-3 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Motes Point
Motes Point is a cape in Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic tarpon and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, southern flounder and black drum. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. Atlantic croaker peak from July 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.
- 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 tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Mallet Bayou57
Bay · 2.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 57
- Atlantic croaker 54
- Atlantic tarpon 52
1 kt NWH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ftL 12:08 AM · 0.5 ft
- Alaqua Bayou56
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 56
- Red drum 56
- Gray snapper 50
1 kt NWH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ftL 12:08 AM · 0.5 ft
- LaGrange Bayou56
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 56
- Atlantic croaker 54
- Gray snapper 50
1 kt NWH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ftL 12:08 AM · 0.5 ft
- Wheeler Point50
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 50
- Gray snapper 50
- Red drum 49
1 kt NWH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ftL 12:08 AM · 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.