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CobiaRetention openChannel · Florida
The Narrows
30.40°N · 86.75°W · Channel · Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 3512 PM CDT
- Best window
- 1-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when The Narrows 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
30Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 6 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
45Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.8 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In 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 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
The Narrows
- Depth
- 3-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 The Narrows
The Narrows is a channel in Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, Florida. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Gray snapper peak from June 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.
- 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Dons Bayou66
Bay · 9.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Red drum 53
- Florida pompano 50
6 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ftL 10:21 PM · 0.2 ft
- Hand Cove66
Bay · 10 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Florida pompano 54
- Gray snapper 51
6 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ftL 10:21 PM · 0.2 ft
- Garmier Bayou66
Bay · 10 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Red drum 53
- Florida pompano 50
6 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ftL 10:21 PM · 0.2 ft
- Paradise Point61
Cape · 9.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 61
- Florida pompano 50
- Gray snapper 47
6 kt ENEH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ftL 10:21 PM · 0.2 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.