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CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spanish mackerel76
- Common snook72
- Red drum72
- Spotted seatrout71
- Black drum66
- Gray snapper66
- Sheepshead66
- King mackerel65
- Florida pompano63
- Gray triggerfish61
- Red grouper61
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 359 AM EST
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.0 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Soldier Hole 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
Monday, Nov 9 · 3 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 5 kt NNWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
68Water temp: 78°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
35Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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
Soldier Hole
- Depth
- 2-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Soldier Hole
Soldier Hole is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, red drum, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and sheepshead. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. 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.
- 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
- Bunces Pass82
Channel · 1.8 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 82
- Common snook 77
- Red drum 74
6 kt EL 12:54 PM · 0.2 ftH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ft
- Mullet Key Bayou76
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 76
- Spanish mackerel 74
- Spotted seatrout 72
6 kt EL 12:54 PM · 0.2 ftH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ft
- Mullet Key Channel73
Channel · 2.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Common snook 71
- Spanish mackerel 71
7 kt ENEL 12:54 PM · 0.2 ftH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ft
- De Soto Point72
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 72
- Common snook 68
- Red drum 68
7 kt ENEL 12:54 PM · 0.2 ftH 8:28 PM · 1.3 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.