UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook78
- Gray snapper77
- Atlantic croaker73
- Crevalle jack69
- Red drum69
- Spanish mackerel69
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Southern flounder67
- Florida pompano64
- King mackerel64
- Black drum62
- Permit62
- Gag grouper61
- Cobia60
- Spotted seatrout59
- Gray triggerfish57
- Red grouper57
- Red snapper57
- Greater amberjack56
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 607 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Buttonwood Harbor 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 · 7 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
99Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.9 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 3 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
55Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
61Season: ShoulderHabitat: 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 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
Buttonwood Harbor
- Depth
- 1-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Buttonwood Harbor
Buttonwood Harbor is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
- 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
- Millar Bay79
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Gray snapper 75
- Red drum 74
3 kt EH 11:52 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:00 AM · 1.4 ft
- Long Bar Point78
Cape · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 78
- Common snook 74
- Atlantic tarpon 73
3 kt EH 12:11 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:54 AM · 2.0 ft
- Sarasota Bay77
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 77
- Gray snapper 75
- Red drum 73
3 kt EH 12:11 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:54 AM · 2.0 ft
- Cranes Bayou75
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 75
- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 70
3 kt EH 12:22 AM · 1.6 ftL 5:08 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.