Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Channel · Florida

Flounder Pass

27.56°N · 82.60°W · Channel · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 10 PM · Cobia

78/100Great
Now
529 AM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score52Good
Tide2.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward NE
Wind4 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherOvercast96% cloud
Water87°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)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

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

Flounder Pass

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Flounder Pass

Flounder Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Critical Bayou

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 68
    • Common snook 65

    4 kt ESEH 10:06 AM · 2.3 ftL 5:32 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Terra Ceia Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 69
    • Gray snapper 64

    4 kt ESEH 10:06 AM · 2.3 ftL 5:32 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Miguel Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 69
    • Gray snapper 64

    4 kt ESEH 10:06 AM · 2.3 ftL 5:32 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Beville Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Common snook 67
    • Gray snapper 62

    4 kt ESEH 10:09 AM · 2.3 ftL 6:09 PM · 0.4 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.