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CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 313 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5 PM-12 AMDusk
Data from: ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Observation 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 · 3 PM · now
- —
Tide & current
Wind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 3 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
33Light: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
20Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: 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
Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Observation Shoal
- Depth
- About 3 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Protected
- Season
- Off 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 Observation Shoal
Observation Shoal is a bar in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is about 3 ft. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, crevalle jack and bonefish. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for bonefish, permit, Atlantic tarpon and gray snapper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Brice Fine Pass62
Channel · 2.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Crevalle jack 59
- Bonefish 53
3 kt ENE
- Whiddens Pass62
Channel · 3.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic tarpon 61
- Atlantic croaker 59
3 kt ENE
- Cochrans Pass60
Channel · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Crevalle jack 57
- Bonefish 52
3 kt ENE
- Turners Cove60
Bay · 4.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Crevalle jack 56
- Bonefish 51
3 kt NE
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.