Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Bay · Florida

Bimini Bay

27.53°N · 82.72°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 9 PM · Cobia

74/100Great
Now
424 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.4 ft

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score42Fair
Tide0.4 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward WSW
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 17 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 6 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast88% chance of rain
Water89°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in Florida →

Spot profile

Bimini Bay

Depth
2-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Bimini Bay

Bimini Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker 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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Passage Key Inlet

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    61
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 61
    • Red drum 57
    • Atlantic tarpon 56

    5 kt ESEH 11:34 PM · 1.9 ftL 3:16 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Jones Bayou

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    61
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 61
    • Atlantic croaker 58
    • Common snook 57

    5 kt ESEH 11:17 PM · 1.9 ftL 2:03 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Key ROyale Bar

    Bar · 0.8 mi

    53
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 53
    • Red drum 52
    • Atlantic croaker 50

    5 kt ESEH 11:34 PM · 1.9 ftL 3:16 AM · 1.6 ft

  • The Bulkhead

    Bar · 1.5 mi

    53
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 53
    • Red drum 52
    • Atlantic croaker 50

    5 kt ESEH 11:34 PM · 1.9 ftL 3:16 AM · 1.6 ft

Open in the tide map

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.