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CobiaRetention openBay · Florida
Santini Bight
25.16°N · 80.76°W · Bay · Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 3512 PM EDT
- Best window
- 12-5 PMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding2.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Santini Bight 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 · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
88Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 3 kt SPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
68Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
35Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)
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 Closed (No retention)
- 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 Check regulations
- Permit Retention open (1 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish 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 Catch & release (No retention)
- 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
Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Santini Bight
- Depth
- 2-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Off 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 Santini Bight
Santini Bight is a bay in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound. Depth is 2-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, common snook and bonefish. It is peak season now for crevalle jack and common snook, and shoulder season for bonefish, permit, Atlantic tarpon and red drum. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Bonefish peak from March through May and from October through November.
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.
- 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.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Rankin Bight77
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 77
- Common snook 75
- Bonefish 74
3 kt SH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ft
- Oyster Creek77
Gut · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 77
- Crevalle jack 75
- Atlantic tarpon 74
3 kt SH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ft
- Mosquito Point76
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Permit 74
- Atlantic tarpon 73
3 kt SH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ft
- Terrapin Bay76
Bay · 2.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Crevalle jack 75
- Atlantic tarpon 71
3 kt SH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 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.