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CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook83
- Gray snapper78
- Red drum78
- Atlantic tarpon77
- Atlantic croaker75
- Crevalle jack73
- Spanish mackerel73
- Permit69
- Southern flounder69
- Florida pompano67
- King mackerel64
- Black drum63
- Spotted seatrout63
- Cobia62
- Gag grouper60
- Gray triggerfish57
- Greater amberjack57
- Red grouper57
- Red snapper57
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 628 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Clearwater Pass 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 · 8 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
55Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
67Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime 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
Clearwater Pass
- Depth
- 9-20 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · slope
- 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 Clearwater Pass
Clearwater Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 9-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. 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.
- 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
- Clearwater Harbor81
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Gray snapper 79
- Atlantic croaker 73
4 kt EH 10:51 PM · 2.3 ftL 3:16 AM · 1.8 ft
- Mandalay Channel81
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Gray snapper 78
- Red drum 78
4 kt EH 10:51 PM · 2.3 ftL 3:16 AM · 1.8 ft
- Clearwater Bay80
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 80
- Gray snapper 77
- Red drum 77
4 kt EH 10:51 PM · 2.3 ftL 3:16 AM · 1.8 ft
- Howard Point76
Cape · 2.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Gray snapper 73
- Red drum 72
4 kt EH 11:19 PM · 2.1 ftL 4:06 AM · 1.4 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.