Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Flat · Florida

Bass Flats

29.06°N · 80.92°W · Flat · Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia

77/100Great
Now
532 PM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding1.2 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 · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score53Good
Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind8 kn NEgusts 20 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 5 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherOvercast90% chance of rain
Water82°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)
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

Bass Flats

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Flat · Outer · Semi-exposedFlat · 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 Bass Flats

Bass Flats is a flat in Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads flat, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, red drum and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for king mackerel, red drum, Atlantic croaker and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, black sea bass and gray triggerfish. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Red drum peak from August through November. Atlantic croaker peak from August 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.
King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Ponce de Leon Inlet

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Crevalle jack 77
    • Spot 72

    8 kt NEH 6:54 PM · 3.7 ftL 1:03 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Ponce de Leon Cut

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Crevalle jack 67
    • King mackerel 66

    8 kt NEH 7:18 PM · 3.2 ftL 1:37 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Inlet Harbor

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Crevalle jack 68
    • Spot 68

    8 kt NEH 7:18 PM · 3.2 ftL 1:37 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Blind Spruce Creek

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Crevalle jack 67
    • King mackerel 66

    8 kt NEH 7:18 PM · 3.2 ftL 1:37 AM · 0.7 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.