UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook69
- Red drum69
- Spotted seatrout68
- Florida pompano67
- Spanish mackerel67
- Black drum62
- Gray snapper62
- King mackerel61
- Sheepshead59
- Gray triggerfish57
- Red grouper57
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 4 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 354 AM EST
- Best window
- 4-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Howard Point 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
Wednesday, Nov 11 · 2 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
77Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
20Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
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 yesterday
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
Howard Point
- Depth
- 4-10 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Howard Point
Howard Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 4-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for red drum, spotted seatrout, Florida pompano and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and king mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March 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.
- 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
- Clearwater Pass75
Channel · 2.1 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 75
- Spanish mackerel 75
- Florida pompano 72
9 kt EH 6:35 AM · 2.6 ftL 1:26 PM · 0.7 ft
- Point Pleasant69
Cape · 0.0 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 69
- Red drum 69
- Spotted seatrout 68
9 kt EH 7:03 AM · 2.4 ftL 2:16 PM · 0.5 ft
- Shell Point66
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 66
- Red drum 64
- Spotted seatrout 63
9 kt EH 7:54 AM · 2.4 ftL 2:58 PM · 0.5 ft
- McKay Point66
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 66
- Red drum 64
- Spotted seatrout 63
9 kt EH 7:54 AM · 2.4 ftL 2:58 PM · 0.5 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.