UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 3510 PM CST
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lake Van Vac 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 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
49Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 8 kt ESEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
45Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.7 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
35Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- 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 16 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Lake Van Vac
- Depth
- 3-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Lake Van Vac
Lake Van Vac is a bay in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is 3-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Florida pompano and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for red drum, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for black drum, gray snapper, sheepshead and king mackerel. Red drum peak from September through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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
- Watson Bayou69
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Spotted seatrout 65
- Florida pompano 57
8 kt ESEH 6:29 AM · 1.1 ftL 1:11 PM · 0.7 ft
- Bunkers Cove60
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 60
- Red drum 60
- Spanish mackerel 58
8 kt ESEH 6:29 AM · 1.1 ftL 1:11 PM · 0.7 ft
- Town Point57
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 57
- Florida pompano 56
- Spanish mackerel 54
8 kt ESEH 6:29 AM · 1.1 ftL 1:11 PM · 0.7 ft
- Bunkers Point56
Cape · 1.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 56
- Florida pompano 55
- Spanish mackerel 53
8 kt ESEH 6:29 AM · 1.1 ftL 1:11 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.