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CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker66
- Red drum66
- Common snook64
- Gray snapper61
- Southern flounder61
- Atlantic tarpon58
- Crevalle jack58
- Gag grouper56
- Permit54
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Red snapper53
- Spanish mackerel53
- Black drum51
- Cobia49
- King mackerel49
- Greater amberjack48
- Spotted seatrout48
- Florida pompano38
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 493 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Smacks Bayou 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 · 3 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
81Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
83Wind: 1 kt WSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
45Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
56Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable 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
Smacks Bayou
- Depth
- 4-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Smacks Bayou
Smacks Bayou is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 4-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, red drum and common snook. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and gag grouper. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- 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
- Bayou Grande68
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Atlantic croaker 66
- Gray snapper 66
1 kt WSWL 7:43 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ft
- Papys Point68
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Common snook 64
- Atlantic tarpon 64
1 kt WSWL 7:43 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ft
- Placido Bayou67
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Atlantic croaker 66
- Common snook 64
1 kt WSWL 7:04 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:52 AM · 1.9 ft
- Mermaid Point64
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Gray snapper 61
1 kt WSWL 7:43 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:16 AM · 2.2 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.