UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook58
- Summer flounder58
- Atlantic tarpon56
- Crevalle jack54
- Atlantic croaker53
- Florida pompano53
- King mackerel53
- Southern flounder53
- Spot53
- Little tunny52
- Gray snapper51
- Spotted seatrout51
- Red drum50
- Spanish mackerel49
- Black drum48
- Weakfish47
- Black sea bass45
- Gag grouper43
- Sheepshead42
- Gray triggerfish41
- Red grouper41
- Red snapper41
- Cobia40
- Greater amberjack40
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 11 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 401 PM EDT
- Best window
- 1 PM-12 AMDusk
Data from: ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when North Lake Shoal 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 · 1 PM · now
- —
Tide & current
Wind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
52Light: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 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
North Lake Shoal
- Depth
- 3-7 ft
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCobia
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing North Lake Shoal
North Lake Shoal is a bar in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Depth is 3-7 ft. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are common snook, summer flounder and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, summer flounder, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Summer flounder peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon 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.
- 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.
- Summer flounder
- Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Whiddens Pass66
Channel · 15 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Atlantic tarpon 64
- Atlantic croaker 62
4 kt ESE
- Brice Fine Pass66
Channel · 15 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Crevalle jack 62
- Atlantic tarpon 57
4 kt ESE
- Cochrans Pass65
Channel · 17 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Crevalle jack 61
- Atlantic tarpon 55
4 kt ESE
- Observation Shoal58
Bar · 16 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 58
- Crevalle jack 54
- Bonefish 49
4 kt ESE
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.