Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Bay · Florida

Passage Key Inlet

27.55°N · 82.73°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 3 PM · Cobia

79/100Great
Now
453 AM EDT
Best window
12-5 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 85

24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Sep 30 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score60Good
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.6 kn · toward WSW
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy30% cloud
Water85°FModel

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Passage Key Inlet

Depth
15-20 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · 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 Passage Key Inlet

Passage Key Inlet is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, Spanish mackerel and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. 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.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Bimini Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Gray snapper 63

    4 kt ESEL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Southwest Channel

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Gray snapper 63

    4 kt ESEL 4:05 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:27 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Key ROyale Bar

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    63
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 63
    • Atlantic croaker 57
    • Gray snapper 57

    4 kt ESEL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ft

  • The Bulkhead

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    63
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 63
    • Atlantic croaker 57
    • Gray snapper 57

    4 kt ESEL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ft

Open in the tide map

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.