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CobiaRetention openGut · Florida
Saultsman Bayou
30.56°N · 87.20°W · Gut · Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 3410 AM CDT
- Best window
- 4-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High1.7 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Saultsman Bayou 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
10Tide: High slackWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 6 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
56Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: Bright sunSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
39Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of 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 yesterday
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
Saultsman Bayou
- Depth
- Under 1 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · Protected
- 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 Saultsman Bayou
Saultsman Bayou is a gut in Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is under 1 ft. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from September 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.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Murphys Cove71
Bay · 1.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Florida pompano 59
- Gray snapper 57
6 kt NEL 7:26 PM · 0.5 ftH 11:13 AM · 1.5 ft
- Sullivans Ditch69
Gut · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Gray snapper 57
- Red drum 57
6 kt NEL 8:03 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:21 AM · 1.6 ft
- Saultsman Cove66
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Red drum 59
- Florida pompano 54
6 kt NEL 8:03 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:21 AM · 1.6 ft
- Ferry Cutoff66
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Florida pompano 59
- Gray snapper 56
6 kt NEL 8:03 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:21 AM · 1.6 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.