Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CobiaRetention open

Cape · Florida

Malone Point

28.00°N · 82.81°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 PM · Cobia

76/100Great
Now
357 PM EST
Best window
7-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.1 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Malone Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide2.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward S
Wind6 kn Egusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy80% chance of rain
Water75°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 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 16 weeks

Cobia season by week of the year. Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 16 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in Florida →

Spot profile

Malone Point

Depth
2-6 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 Malone Point

Malone Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and gray snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. 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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Scharrer Bayou

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    80
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 80
    • Spotted seatrout 77
    • Florida pompano 73

    6 kt EH 8:36 PM · 2.4 ftL 2:26 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Dunedin Channel

    Channel · 0.4 mi

    79
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 79
    • Red drum 78
    • Common snook 76

    6 kt EH 8:36 PM · 2.4 ftL 2:26 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Scharrer Cut

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    79
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 79
    • Red drum 78
    • Common snook 76

    6 kt EH 8:36 PM · 2.4 ftL 2:26 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Redfish Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    74
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 74
    • Florida pompano 73
    • Red drum 73

    6 kt EH 8:36 PM · 2.4 ftL 2:26 AM · 1.1 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.